Edgar to increase sewer rates by 30%

By Kevin O’Brien

Edgar residents can expect to start paying about 30 percent more on their quarterly utility bills now that the village is wrapping up work on its upgraded sewer plant and preparing to close on a 40-year, $12 million loan with the USDA early next month.

At Monday’s village board meeting, village administrator Jennifer Lopez told trustees that the USDA’s Rural Development program is prepared to release its loan funds on April 2, a day after new sewer rates are scheduled to go into effect in order to raise the revenue needed to pay back the money over 40 years.

The board plans to have a special meeting this upcoming Monday, March 17, at 6 p.m, in order to finalize the loan documents and officially vote to increase sewer rates.

According to data from the village, an average household using 7,894 gallons of water per quarter will pay $37.76 more than what they’re paying now for sewer services. This increase is the result of raising the base charge by $19.80 per quarter and the rate per thousand gallons from $7.50 to $9.75.

“That is what it’s going to take to get us there,” Lopez told the board. The impact of the new rates won’t be seen until the July 1 billing statements are issued, she noted.

On the other hand, Lopez said the sewer utility can start using revenue from waste haulers who use the treatment plan to offset expenses and stave off the need for any future rate increases. With just one hauler using the facility this past year, Lopez said the utility was able to collect $120,000 in revenue.

“Obviously, that’s kind of a minimum for us for hauler revenue,” she said. “We dropped our other two haulers during the construction period.”

With the newly upgraded plant close to

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fully functional, Lopez said the village can invite back the other two haulers and potentially add a fourth. She said the village is able to factor in that hauler revenue when making loan payments and covering expenses, but if that revenue were to ever go away, “that would have to be made up with rates, which is pretty scary.”

Still, Lopez said she believes the village is “in a pretty solid” position when it comes to attracting haulers.

“There’s not a ton of competition for us, and obviously, it’s the shorter miles from where they’re picking up is why they like to come here,” she said.

The village did not increase its sewer rates last year, she noted, and going forward, she doesn’t expect any more significant hikes with the revenue stream from haulers continuing to grow. “I don’t know if our rates could ever go down, but if we did subsidize with a bunch of haulers, it would certainly would be a discussion you could entertain, but I don’t want to give false hope, either,” she told trustees. “But it is possible. There’s nothing preventing that.”

Following the March 17 meeting, Lopez said she, village president Terry Lepak and the village attorney will meet with USDA representatives on March 21 to sign all of the loan documents so that the money can be deposited in the village account by April 2.

In a related matter, the board voted down a proposal to temporarily use $430,575 from the village’s general fund to cover the most recent bills from Staab Construction, the general contractor on the sewer plant project. Lopez said the village does not have enough money from its interim loan to cover the bills, so she suggested that the board use tax dollars to pay the bills in the short-term before being reimbursed after the USDA loan closes on April 2.

Once the loan is closed, Lopez said the village will also have access to $2.5 million in grant money from the USDA. When asked, Lopez said she has it in writing from a USDA representative that the village can use grant money to reimburse itself.

Still, trustee Jon Streit said he doesn’t think the village should have to front its own money with an absolute guarantee that the money will be paid back on time.

“It’s way too risky of a move for the village to take,” he said.

Lopez agreed that there is some risk in putting tax dollars on the line, especially after the USDA’s loan and grant payments were initially halted as part of President Trump’s executive order to temporarily pause all federal funding disbursements, even those already obligated by Congress. A federal judge issued a temporary injunction on that executive order, which was eventually rescinded, but it left local officials feeling uncertain about the timely delivery of USDA funds.

“With all the daily changes in Washington, you don’t know what will happen,” Lopez said.

When village president Terry Lepak asked if Staab Construction could charge the village interest for overdue payments, Lopez said that is likely a possibility under the village’s contract.

Other business

■ The board voted to recommend that a new sign recognizing Edgar’s state champion athletic teams be placed at Shortner Park, pending approval by the park commission. The sign, which will be about 177 inches tall and 208 inches wide, will include the words “Welcome to Edgar!” and “Wild Country,” along with lists of all the Edgar teams that have won state championships over the decades.

■ Police chief Zachary Zaug told the board that he’s been cracking down on speeding on Chesak Avenue, and after pulling several vehicles over, the problem seems to have gotten better. He also said that newly rehired officer Ben Johnson is back out on the road by himself.

■ The board agreed to sell a 1984 Cummins Engine generator used by the sewer utility. Lopez said the generator, which was used as a backup, only has 400 hours on it, so she believes the village could get a good resale price for it. Trustees initially thought about listing the generator on the Wisconsin Surplus auction site, but after further discussion, they decided to solicit bids from local buyers and open the bids at their April 14 meeting.

■ Lopez told the board that the village has received a $5,000 donation from Wisconsin Public Service for the Scotch Creek revitalization project. “A ton of work” has been going on at the sites along the creek, she noted, including a landscaper that is painting the stumps of invasive species to keep from growing back. The Edgar Fire Department plans on doing a controlled burn there this spring to help with rehabilitating the area.