Council forgives sewer loans

All is forgiven.

Jay County Council on Wednesday agreed to forgive the total of $75,000 in loans it has given over the last several years to Jay County Regional Sewer District.

Council, which along with commissioners agreed earlier this year to take on bond payments for the financially struggling sewer district, had previously discussed the possibility of forgiving the loans but had never voted on such a provision. Those loans were provided in 2013, 2015 and 2018 to help the sewer district cover its operating expenses.

Those loans were in addition to nearly $350,000 the county provided in the start-up process. A U.S. Department of Agriculture grant of $498,000 and a USDA 30-year Rural Development Bond issue of $604,000 were also used to fund the cost of running sewer lines from Portland and Dunkirk’s wastewater treatment plants to nearby rural homes and businesses.

The sewer district, which serves 74 customers in the Foxfire Addition southwest of Portland and two areas near Dunkirk, has had financial issues nearly from the moment the sewer system was constructed in 2011 and ’12. Sewer district customers and board members came to council in early 2018 looking for help as they faced rate increases that would eventually push monthly payments $92.80 for Portland area residents and $101.85 for Dunkirk area residents.

After months of discussion, council and county commissioners in October agree to take over the sewer district’s bond payments that total $28,443.75 annually. The goal was reduce the rate increases that went into effect in August while also allowing the sewer district to bring in enough money to pay its other bills and build up a balance for maintenance.

In addition to the agreement to pay the bond, a plan was also put in place for streamlining maintenance and reporting systems, naming commissioners and council members to seats on the sewer district board, continuing to check on increased meter readings in Dunkirk and reviewing charges from the cities of Portland and Dunkirk, which handle the wastewater from the sewer systems.

Council members Jeanne Houchins, Ted Champ, Gary Theurer, Cindy Newton, Mike Rockwell, Amy Runyon Barrett and Gary Theurer also affirmed their desire to move forward with the process of creating a full-time school resource officer position in conjunction with Jay School Corporation. Details on how the position would be structured and paid for are still to be worked out.

The SRO position was the subject of a joint executive session between council and county commissioners prior to Wednesday’s regular meeting.

Also Wednesday, council tabled a discussion of how to handle the finances for the building and planning fund. Fees charged by the building and planning department do not cover operating costs.

Auditor Anna Culy said council could either transfer money to the building and planning fund as needed or roll the department back into the general fund. (She recommended the second option.)

Council will discuss the issue at its Feb. 13 meeting, at which Culy said she would provide an estimate on how much money is needed each year to cover the funding gap.

In other business, council:

•Re-elected Houchins as president and Champ as vice president.

•Named law firm Hinkle, Racster and Schemenaur as legal counsel.

•Made the following board and committee assignments: community corrections – Champ; economic development income tax advisory – Parr, Newton, Theurer and Champ; tax abatement advisory – Champ and Houchins; Jay County Development Corporation – Parr and Houchins; personnel committee – Houchins and Champ; road – Theurer; solid was management district – Rockwell; and joint zoning – Barrett.

•Voted to keep department assignments the same as they were in 2018.

•Appropriated remaining funds from 2018 to be spent this year to cover payroll for hours worked in December. Culy noted that council should plan to include such expenses during its budget process in the fall.

•Appointed Pat Gibson and Ron Dashler to the property tax assessment board of appeals.

•Transferred $5,000 to the jury fee fund from the general fund to cover trial costs.