Utility board to look at line levy

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Utility board to look at line levy
By Terry Witt


A government utility will decide at a public hearing today whether to use property assessments to fund a multimillion dollar water line extension project in Citrus Springs.

The decision by the Florida Governmental Utility Authority (FGUA) board of directors could be the easiest part of the approval process for the assessments.

If the three-member board votes to use assessments as the funding method, FGUA has now agreed to let the Citrus County Water and Wastewater authority review the assessments. That could be a tougher process.

The water and wastewater authority's primary responsibility is to protect the public in utility cases.

FGUA wants to levy an assessment of $2,082 against 6,000 vacant lots in Citrus Springs in the first phase of a much larger project to eventually provide water to the entire community. Five phases are planned.

In the first phase, the utility would install 193,240 linear feet of 6-inch water line.

Earlier this week, FGUA dropped Pine Ridge from the assessment program.

If the FGUA board gives conceptual approval to the Citrus Springs assessments, the hearing will be continued through Aug. 15 to give the water and wastewater authority time to review the assessments in public hearings on Aug. 1-3.

County Utilities Regulatory Director Robert Knight, who makes recommendations to the water and wastewater authority, is already questioning the size of the project.

He said FGUA wants to do about 12 years' worth of water line extensions in one project, but he doesn't know if that is justified.

"They've got to convince me that building lines 12 years before they are needed is prudent," he said.

Utility officials say unexpectedly high growth in the community is forcing construction of more line extensions than current water rates can fund.

They say it would be unfair to increase water rates for residents already living in the community to pay for line extensions to new residents. As a result, they have proposed levying property assessments on vacant land.

Phase one, they say, is where the highest growth is occurring.

FGUA officials say they also have discussed the possibility of an assessment for sewer lines at some future date.

The question of whether FGUA would give the water and wastewater authority to review the assessments was settled Tuesday night when county commissioners met with the utility. Board members unleashed a brutal verbal assault on FGUA members for failing to telling them in advance about plans to implement the assessments and then claiming the county had no authority to review them.

On Wednesday, FGUA formally acknowledged in a letter that the water and wastewater authority could review the assessments. Officials from the utility hope to get county approval of the assessments in time to put the assessments on the tax roll.

Under the FGUA proposal, residents can prepay $2,082 before Oct. 15 for the line extensions, or they can finance the extension over 20 to 30 years at $269 a year. If they pay over time, rather than pre-pay, their base cost rises to $2,475. The interest rate is 7 percent.

n What: Florida Governmental Utility Authority meeting.

n When: 10 a.m. today.

n Where: Citrus County Commission chambers, Inverness.

n Why: Consider water-line extension assessments for Citrus Springs.