SEELEY LAKE - The Sewer Board proposal to subsidize sewer rates to get the initial monthly cost down is an end run around our right to vote on a very-expensive bond proposal. By promising early, temporary, affordable sewer rates, Public Works Director Greg Robertson and the Seeley Lake Sewer District Board hope to avoid a vote on the multi-million dollar bond issue which would probably fail at the polls if the vote were held tomorrow. Here are some considerations.
• Robertson is overlooking several pertinent facts to make his case for the sewer project and is incorrect in stating the rates will be a mere $50 per month for the first four years. Here are some reasons why:
The Board recently reversed itself and stated homeowners will have to pay the cost of restoring their individual properties after the sewer trunk lines are installed. Originally the District was going to pay this cost which could run hundreds, even thousands, for each individual property faced with restoring lawns, sprinkler systems, sidewalks and driveways. This should be calculated into the cost for users.
The Board has also decided recently to continue the $80-per-year-per-lot assessment. That translates to $7 more a month per lot. If your home sits on two residential lots it is $14 more per month. That would bring your monthly bill to a minimum of $64 per residential household.
• The four-year subsidy will be in part paid for by the District’s reserve fund. That’s money we paid in past years folks, so that needs to be included in calculating homeowners costs.
Now, assuming the County Commissioners shove this project through without a vote, what happens in four years? Let me lay it out.
The Board will have discovered operation and maintenance costs are higher than expected because it is pumping every gallon of sewage uphill. Raw sewage is caustic and corrosive and will necessitate constant and regular replacement of expensive stainless steel pumps and piping. Because the project has been “approved” district users will be on the hook for any new, unexpected costs the District may incur. Our sewer rates could easily jump back to or exceed the original $165-a-month projection
Robertson is also incorrect when he says non-resident members of the Sewer District cannot vote on the Bond Issue. There is a process in the Missoula County Elections procedures which permits non-residents to submit an affidavit stating they live and vote elsewhere but have real property in the Seeley Lake Sewer District. The Elections Office can verify the affidavits and issue a ballot for the bond issue.
This is a multi-million dollar project which will subject district users for probably 30 years of sewer debt, folks. Once we issue contracts and start turning dirt there’s no turning back. We have to be sure it is right for Seeley Lake. Remember, also, the filtration debt which makes our water rates among the highest in Western Montana will continue until 2027 or 28.
So what will it do to long-run growth and development in Seeley Lake? You be the judge. I forsee new businesses and residences moving outside the district to avoid the high cost of utilities.
Public officials, of all citizens have a duty to be clear, honest and transparent in their activities so that taxpayers can make well-informed decisions affecting their tax dollar expenditures Local officials have not been clear and honest in this sewer project development. It moves voters from apathy to contempt when they are shut out of the process.
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