Edgar sewer plant charges projected

If the Village of Edgar can qualify for a USDA Rural Development Loan to rebuild its sewage treatment plant, village ratepayers might, on average, only see a $13 per month increase in their sewer bills, according to administrator Jennifer Lopez.

The prediction, said Lopez, follows submittal by engineer Gary Strand, Cooper Engineering, Rice Lake, of a $3,913,000 facility plan to update the village’s wastewater treatment plant. Lopez said low-interest USDA financing accompanied by a 45 percent grant would be the way to minimize residential sewer bills.

Rates would have to increase 34.5 percent with USDA financing, she said, which is a sizable increase, but a fraction of other alternatives. A 20-year loan through the DNR Clean Water Fund with a 15 percent plant grant, for example, would require a 145 percent rate increase, she said.

Lopez said that any increase in sewer bills will be a challenge for some residents, but a USDA loan and grant would be a best alternative.

“Thirteen dollars is a lot for some people, but it is the most affordable option presented,” she said.

Under USDA financing, the average annual residential sewer charge will increase from a current $442 to $595.

Lopez said she thought Edgar would qualify for USDA financing, but that was far from certain.

“This is all very preliminary,” she said. “We haven’t filled out any grant or loan applications.”

Lopez thought Edgar could qualify for the loan, however, because a 34 percent rate hike would push the village’s rates beyond what USDA thinks homeowners should pay for sewer based on their household income.

USDA financing would involve a 40year loan and a 45 percent grant that would shrink the project construction cost to be financed to $2,152,150. The interest rate would be 2.35 percent. The village’s annual payment for the loan would be $83,582.

The village has 506 residential class utility customers.