Submitted by the City of St. Mary
ST. MARY – This information from Heartland Engineering is being presented on behalf of the city of St. Mary in order to educate the public on the proposition, which will be on the April 7 ballot in St. Mary.
CITY OF ST. MARY, MISSOURI
WATER & WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENTS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHY ARE IMPROVEMENTS NEEDED FOR THE BOND?
St. Mary’s water and wastewater systems are aging, with much of the infrastructure dating back to the 1970s and previous designs that don’t help with our current City design. Many components are at or beyond their useful life and require upgrades to maintain reliable service and meet regulatory requirements and replacing sub-par failing infrastructure to a more long-term and efficient design and delivery to residents.
HOW THE PROJECT IS FUNDED
TOTAL PROJECT COST
↓
GRANT FUNDING (does not get repaid)
↓
REMAINING BALANCE
↓
LOW-INTEREST OR 0% INTREST LOAN (via State/Federal programs)
↓
REPAID THROUGH WATER & SEWER REVENUES
The bond authorization allows the city to access the 0% to low-interest loan portion of this funding structure. Without a debt service instrument such as bond authorization, grant funds cannot be accessed and possible substantial savings on water and sewer user rates resulting in a possible increase as we must meet DNR requirements or exceed with a long-term plan and engineering. .
KEY QUESTIONS RESIDENTS TO DECIDE ON THE BALLOT BOND MEASURE
What is on the ballot?
Authorization to issue up to $7,000,000 in water and sewer revenue bonds.
Does this mean the City will borrow $7 million?
- The actual amount depends on project cost and how much grant funding is received when passed, meaning no SIGNIFICANT TAX DOLLARS SPENT AFTER 100% GRANT FUNDINGS. This is comparison to the previous design and operations and user rate structure
Will this affect my property taxes?
No. Revenue bonds are repaid from utility revenues, not property taxes. Passage and Capital improvement may increase your property value and relieve the residents of High Rates
Why is bond authorization needed?
It allows the City to qualify for low-interest or 0% interest loans after mostly grant funding.
What happens if the bond is not approved?
The city may have fewer funding options and reduced access to grants and low-interest 0% loans. Which may result in higher Infrastructure Repairs and Utility Bill Rate Increases for residents and businesses.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR A TYPICAL HOUSEHOLD BOND IS PASSED
- Monthly Water and Sewer Rates DECREASE Dramatically over time as it supports the system improvements Once Passage and Grant funds to Replace Water and Sewer in Infrastructure is replaced to a up to date long term efficient design.
- The goal is to minimize increases by securing as much grant funding as possible and utilizing 0% to low interest loans and possibly consuming old debt to create a total capital improvement to improve not fail.
- WITHOUT BOND PASSAGE, will end up resulting in no grant funding. The city has not been able to access in over 10 years or more, costs would likely be substantially higher due to less favorable financing options and user rate increases to pay for a system that was non-efficient and to replace that bad design with long term infrastructure efficient and reliable resulting in lowering household rate costs.
- Improvements are intended to provide more reliable service and reduce unexpected repairs and possibly become SELF SUSTAINING again on water resources instead of purchasing water for resale enabling the possibility of both WATER AND WASTEWATER DECREASES as well as supporting other districts in need and also Fire Protection Districts, Bulk Sales to Farmers, BNSF, and Residential.
- A large part of the existing user rate cost structure is to maintain the existing failing systems Put in the old water/sewer project resolved, those costs are expected to decrease substantially. Then also assist in economic development resulting in substantial savings.
For more information, please contact City Hall or attend a public meeting.