Cost-sharing hiccup

Posted on by Christopher George

In a 6-5 vote Dec. 15, the Metropolitan Sewerage District board tabled plans to implement a new cost-sharing policy for sewer-line extensions in new developments and annexed areas until January. Despite getting the go-ahead from the MSD Planning Committee on Dec. 2 (in what was also a close vote), the board heeded a request from the Council of Independent Business Owners that the issue be postponed for a month.

The delay raised the ire of some board members, who promised to skip the Jan. 19 meeting in protest.

If implemented, the “hybrid” plan would create a two-tiered system with differing rules for new public agency and private developments or annexed areas not currently served by MSD (See the Dec. 13 online post “MSD Considers Sharing Cost of Sewer-Line Extensions").

Currently, when the city of Asheville annexes an area or extends sewer service to one already within the city limits, it has to foot the entire bill for building new sewer lines. The city then turns those lines over to the Metropolitan Sewerage District, which collects the fees for providing the service.

Under the proposed cost-sharing agreement, however, that could change. If Asheville installed a new line, the city would get half of MSD’s fee revenues from those customers for up to 10 years or until the infrastructure cost was reimbursed, whichever came first.

“It would help offset some of the city’s financial situation,” City Council member Esther Manheimer explains.  “With regard to the newer annexations, we were prepared to put in those lines regardless — it’s in the plan; we’re doing it — but there are some projects that might not be able to happen if this policy is not adopted. … It would be very helpful as we try to restructure the city’s finances in numerous ways to try to tame some of the shortfall.”

Although Manheimer expects the newly GOP-controlled N.C. General Assembly to prohibit involuntary annexation, the new policy would enable Asheville to extend sewer lines to such currently unserved areas as Azalea Road, near the Nature Center.

“Without this policy, for example, we wouldn’t be able to run sewer to that pocket,” she says.

“I think it’s clear that annexation is going to go away in this next legislation, so the benefit is capped. What we’re really talking about is the cost associated with what we’ve got.”

The city, she adds, “is working very closely with MSD to come up with a policy acceptable to their board.”

The proposal calls for MSD to contribute 50 percent of its revenue from newly annexed areas and new public-agency developments for up to 10 years, or until the full cost of the line extension is met. For private developments, MSD would contribute 100 percent of its revenues to the developer for five years.

Under the current system, MSD makes payments to whoever pays for running the new line based on estimated rather than actual revenues.

But the idea was deferred after Mike Plemmons, director of the Council of Independent Business Owners, asked the board to delay their vote so his group would have time to craft a presentation on the potential effect of the new cost-sharing plan on small- to medium-sized developers.

“We think [those developers] are the two groups that could probably utilize that policy more so than the large developers,” said Plemmons. “I just want to remind everyone that CIBO is the group that put this thing together,” he added. “We want to be a part of the process no matter how it goes.”

MSD board member (and Asheville City Council member) Bill Russell agreed with Plemmons and made a motion to suspend the proposal. Russell also raised concerns that the full board wasn’t present, specifically citing Mayor Terry Bellamy’s absence.

Board member Max Haner disagreed with the delay, arguing that issues regarding small developers could be handled after the motion was passed. “I would be supportive of setting up a process, an ad hoc committee or whatever, to get to where we need to go and not delay this,” said Haner.

Asheville City Council member Esther Manheimer addressed the board, noting the city’s desire to move the process along and willingness to work with MSD to make the final cost-sharing plan more palatable to everyone involved. “The city would certainly invite another month to talk with you all and work on this, assuming we would have an opportunity to make some changes to this so that it would be supported by a majority,” said Manheimer.

MSD board Chair Steve Aceto then called for the vote, but Haner and Bill Stanley (who is vice chair of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners) said they would intentionally skip the next meeting in protest. If they follow through, it will bump the final decision on the new policy back to February: Aceto made it clear that the proposal would not be considered unless all members were present. To do otherwise, he said, would imply that “Some board members are more equal than others.”

Aceto added that all comments on potential changes to the proposal should be submitted before the board’s next meeting on Jan. 19.

— Freelance writer Christopher George lives in Spartanburg, S.C., where he reports local government news on his blog, FlyingOskar.com.

SHARE

Thanks for reading through to the end…

We share your inclination to get the whole story. For the past 25 years, Xpress has been committed to in-depth, balanced reporting about the greater Asheville area. We want everyone to have access to our stories. That’s a big part of why we've never charged for the paper or put up a paywall.

We’re pretty sure that you know journalism faces big challenges these days. Advertising no longer pays the whole cost. Media outlets around the country are asking their readers to chip in. Xpress needs help, too. We hope you’ll consider signing up to be a member of Xpress. For as little as $5 a month — the cost of a craft beer or kombucha — you can help keep local journalism strong. It only takes a moment.

Before you comment

The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.

Leave a Reply

To leave a reply you may Login with your Mountain Xpress account, connect socially or enter your name and e-mail. Your e-mail address will not be published. All fields are required.