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Assumption Parish to petition state after OCD denies sewer rate certification; jurors seek parallel plan
Summary
After the Office of Community Development denied rate certification for a parish‑wide sewer upgrade, jurors voted to petition the Water Sector Commission and to pursue parallel options — breaking projects into smaller bids and setting up a local subsidy — to avoid immediate steep rate hikes for residents.
Assumption Parish jurors voted Oct. 23 to ask the state Water Sector Commission for an extension and to prepare a petition after the Office of Community Development (OCD) declined to approve the parish's rate certification for a proposed $3.9 million sewer upgrade.
Ebony Bailey of South Central Planning told the jury the OCD denied the parish's rate certification because the required rate study was incomplete and because the state prefers a dedicated sewer fund rather than use of the general fund. Bailey said OCD guidance would require a self‑sustaining rate that, under the state's parameters, would push some monthly sewer charges from about $24 to roughly $55 immediately in year one.
"They want a self‑sustaining rate of 1.5," Bailey said, and added the state expected that increase to be implemented in year one. Jurors reacted that such a jump would be unaffordable in many low‑ and moderate‑income neighborhoods the project is intended to serve.
Infinity Engineering staff, who have nearly completed design drawings, told the jury there is a hard Nov. 15 deadline to secure OCD permission to go to bid. Engineering said the drawings are about 98–99% complete but that the outstanding issues related to the rate study and front‑end contract documents must be resolved before permitting or bidding can proceed.
Jurors discussed three parallel approaches: pursue a petition and extension from the Water Sector Commission while simultaneously rescoping and prioritizing parcels to break the work into smaller bid packages; create a local sewer subsidy fund using recovery money to reduce immediate rate pressure on residents; or table higher‑cost elements such as the Yule/Virginia portion and move forward with other, lower‑cost systems first.
Juror Diaz moved that staff draft and send a letter to OCD acknowledging the parish likely would not meet the Nov. 15 deadline and requesting petitioning to the Water Sector Commission and a potential extension; the motion passed. Staff were directed to prepare cost‑and‑priority estimates for each system so the jury can reallocate the $3.9 million if state funding is lost.
The jury also recorded that Infiniti Engineering has been paid approximately $357,600 to date; that figure will come out of the allocated recovery funds if OCD does not reimburse those design costs.
Next steps: staff will draft the petition letter and return cost‑and‑priority estimates to the jury for consideration at a future meeting; the parish will pursue the Water Sector petition and, in parallel, prepare an alternative construction sequencing plan.
