A preliminary financial analysis of the cost to Mashpee’s taxpayers of building a sewer system and sewage treatment plant next to the city’s transfer station found that it may not incur additional costs for taxpayers.
The Mashpee Board of Selectmen at its virtual meeting on Monday, 1st March, reviewed the available funding sources and used a $ 51.2 million estimate for the project to assess taxpayer costs. A final figure for the project cost is expected by engineers on March 15th.
Rodney C. Collins, City Administrator of Mashpee, told the chosen few, “When asked how much more it will cost the average taxpayer to fund the first phase, based on all of the assumptions I’ve made, the answer How it is correct Now – a good faith estimate – is zero. “
The sewer project, which is the first phase of Mashpee’s comprehensive nitrogen management plan, is expected to be completed before the town meeting this spring. A date for the city assembly has not yet been set, but the arrest warrant must be carried out by March 22nd. A two-thirds majority in the town council will likely be required to approve the debt for the construction project.
Mashpee completed a final draft of the nitrogen management plan in 2015. The plan aims to reduce nitrogen pollution on the city’s embankments by combining five phases of wastewater with an innovative shellfish aquaculture program.
The city has been slow to implement sewer projects, despite rapid growth in the mussel program, and is facing a possible lawsuit from the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental law firm. The CLF announced last fall its intention to sue the city for allegedly violating Title V of the Massachusetts Environment Act by continuing to allow septic tanks, which are the main source of nitrogen pollution.
“The shellfish reproduction program is unlikely to be sufficient to meet water quality needs, and state or federal governments are likely to step in at higher public and private costs if the city does not act properly on its own,” said Collins Monday.
The chosen ones expressed optimism that the construction of the first phase of the sewer system, with various sources of funding available, would be less burdensome for the taxpayer than previous estimates had suggested.
“When you look at that, it’s not that scary anymore,” said Selectwoman Carol A. Sherman.
If the project is approved at the town council, it will receive a 2 percent interest loan on the total project cost through the State Revolving Fund. These loans could be further reduced to 0 percent interest rate loans if the city passes river-neutral regulations in the spring. The revolving fund will also provide 3.3 percent capital on the loans.
By qualifying for the Revolving Fund, the wastewater project can also qualify for debt relief through the Cape and Islands Water Protection Trust, a fund that generates 2.75 percent excise tax revenues on short-term rentals for water infrastructure projects on Cape Cod.
Selectmen Andrew R. Gottlieb, who is Mashpee’s representative on the trust’s board of directors, expects the Water Protection Trust to receive between 10 and 20 percent of the debt.
“The law automatically makes any project eligible that receives an SRF loan from the state,” said Gottlieb about the trust. “The money comes into town upfront before we actually get any permanent funding, and it permanently lowers the cost of what we have to pay back.”
A local tax on short-term rents further offsets the property tax burden on the project. The tax is expected to generate about $ 750,000 a year, with 75 percent of that going to wastewater projects, Collins said.
In addition, the Town Meeting in October voted to lower the Community Preservation Act property tax from 3 percent to 2 percent and introduce a 2 percent property tax that generates revenue for a sewage infrastructure mutual fund.
That tax resulted in a net increase of $ 44.50 in the tax burden of the average taxpayer owning a $ 498,000 home. This is evident from a financial analysis carried out by the selected people. Beyond this pre-determined tax, no further tax increases would be required to fund the first phase of the sewer construction project if the total cost of the project did not increase, the analysis said.
“I remember talking about raising well over $ 150 per household a year and a half ago, so those numbers are at least half that,” said John J. Cotton, chairman of the Chosen People. “I feel so much more comfortable talking about it [the] Costs.”
Mr Cotton said once the engineering team finalized the 75 percent drafts for the sewer project and sent a final estimate back to the city on March 15, the chosen ones would re-examine the taxpayer’s financial burden.