RFP Staff
♦ Rowan County May Be The Only Local Government Eligible For Water Infrastruture Loans and Grants.
Any county commission candidate calling for a ‘partnership’ with Salisbury for extending water lines for job growth in the county may be sniffing the wrong fire hydrant. The Rowan Free Press learned through diligently studying the city’s budget that the continual misallocation of water/sewer trust funds has bumped the City of Salisbury from the list of local governments eligible for Water and Sewer Infrastructure loans and grants administered by North Carolina. Recently passed legislation does not prohibit interfund transfers from municipal water and sewer funds. But municipalities who continue to be poor stewards of those funds are no longer eligible for grants and loans administered by NC DENR.
In June, the General Assembly announced new rules to stop rewarding water municipalities for squandering water/sewer revenues, by cutting the flow of taxpayer funds to those municpalities who continue abusive practices.
Since July 1st 2014, any local government applying for State grants or loans for water/sewer infrastructure improvements must certify they do not use water/sewer revenues for general fund purposes. Salisbury’s budget specifically earmarks water/sewer revenues for its “Capital Improvements” including fleet vehicle replacements, fixed route bus service, and other capital projects. So it would be fair to say that the City of Salisbury made a decision to completely “opt out” of all State grant and loan programs that would be available for water/sewer infrastructure improvements.
How will the City of Salisbury finance future water/sewer infrastructure projects is a mystery. If they were not squandering their seed corn on nonrelated ‘capital improvements’, they could likely have enough water/sewer cash flow to perform infrastructure improvements on their water/sewer system. But they’re blowing their cash, as well as ending their chances to get State loans and grants to expand water/sewer.
This rule was passed in the State budget, of which Salisbury’s leadership had full knowledge before it passed its own budget on June 17th?. And even with full knowledge, Salisbury’s City Council passed a budget that would hamstring its own ability to obtain State funds for water/sewer infrastructure improvements.
The “mutually terminated” City Manager Doug Paris was astute enough to have likely informed the council of the potential impact of their decision to continue to rob the Water/Sewer trust funds to pay for nonrelated items. That City Manager appears to be unwilling to “falsely” certify to a State agency they weren’t using Water/Sewer funds for general fund purposes when they, in fact, were doing just that. So how did City Council receive that admonition from their City Manager? Because the City Council at least temporarily closed the book on what happened the night of June 17th, we may never know. Be assured though that any applications for loans or grants for water/sewer infrastructure improvements the City of Salisbury files with the State will be closely inspected by vigilant eyes, through the Freedom of Information Act inquiries and the NC Public Records Act.
SALISBURY’S MASSIVE SUBSIDIZING OF THE FIBRANT DEBACLE THROUGH INTERLOAN TRANFERS
Salisbury’s Massive Subsidizing of Fibrant through interfund transfers as witnessed on Salisbury’s 2015 budget:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2E5Ew6OLdElMnlUdFhrd09CZXM/edit?usp=sharing
CAPITAL RESERVE FUND
In Salisbury’s 2015 budget their definition of “CAPITAL RESERVE FUND” is on page 18-2. A special fund (Equipment Replacement Fund) used as a clearing house for monies being transferred from General Fund, Water and Sewer Fund and Stormwater Fund operations. Amounts based on the type, estimated life, and replacement costs of each piece of equipment are transferred from every department/division. From this fund, the City purchases equipment based on a replacement schedule and recommendations from Fleet Management, Information Technologies, Telecommunications, and Purchasing Divisions.
STORMWATER SLUSH FUND
Instead of directing the $5 per month residential “stormwater” funding stream for capital improvements to stormwater runoff and clean water initiatives, look at the very miniscule amount Salisbury tucks away annually (around seventy grand) for stormwater improvements. Out of $1.1 million, only half a million goes towards stormwater improvements. The rest of Salisbury’s relatively new “stormwater fund” goes to replacing general fund sources for street cleaning and leaf collection, so that there will be enough traditional cash leftover to prop up badly failing Fibrant.
Is it going to take legislative action to stop cities like Salisbury from adding new taxes and fees, then diverting them to cover existing city services, so that they can come up with magical new initiatives like Fibrant? Most residents are paying $60 per year (at $5 per month) for stormwater runoff per household. That is roughly equivalent to a 6.3 cents tax hike on the median dwelling valued at $129,000. And they passed it with nary a squawk, under the pretext of “clean drinking water”.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2E5Ew6OLdElQmVtdEZoLU8zQjg/edit?usp=sharing
