Vote No on Solid Waste Bond
On May 18 you are being asked to vote on the Special Revenue Bond for the County’s solid waste system. It deserves a No vote. There are too many unanswered questions.
First, why the rush for a bond?
The stated reason is to have funds available immediately for solid waste improvements because of “federal requirements” and because costs will go up in the future. The federal requirements have not been specified. Immediate availability of the funds requires a loan of $8,733,700 at an interest cost of $786,423, for a total of $9,520,123, and it is being run as a bond.
To be clear, in 2019 the Commissioners raised your solid waste fee on your property tax bill from $115 to $185 to fund those improvements over a 10-year period that provides the full amount of $8,733,700 in 2029. Millions of dollars have already been collected since 2019.
What is the true repayment period?
The ballot says it “will be paid solely from the revenues and receipts from the solid waste system” … “over a term which may be less than but which will not to exceed 10 years”. Yet the County’s online Q&A document, published after the ballot, says the loan will be paid in full within 10 years but not more than 15 years.
What is the impact on taxpayers?
Commissioner McDonald claims that it “will not increase the solid waste customers’ yearly user fee.” True, but he failed to mention you are likely going to pay that fee for 15 years rather than 10 because of the interest payment that comes with the loan.
Louis Perry
Sandpoint
Related: Bonner County Republicans: May Election Endorsements
The views, opinions, or positions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions of Redoubt News. Social Media, including Facebook, has greatly diminished distribution of our content to our readers’ newsfeeds and is instead promoting Main Stream Media sources. This is called ‘Shadow-banning’. Please take a moment and consider sharing this article with your friends and family. Thank you. Please support our coverage of your rights. Donate here: paypal.me/RedoubtNews
The post Vote No on Solid Waste Bond appeared first on Redoubt News.
http://dlvr.it/RzV0Pp
