Boone council advances multi-million-dollar water and sewer financing after public hearing

The Boone City Council voted to move forward with financing for a suite of water and wastewater projects after a lengthy public hearing that included written and spoken citizen questions about tax impacts and financing options.

City Administrator Andrea described the short-term financing plan for part of the work, telling the council: "This is a 3 year bond, so it'll be paid off in 3 years using property tax levy." She also said the administration is not proposing a permanent increase to the tax levy and that the three-year structure avoids a longer-term capital fee that would otherwise be needed on a 20-year loan.

The measures under discussion included a not-to-exceed $2,146,000 general obligation capital loan note for planning and design of a north transmission main, a booster pump station and related work to feed the DAISY plant, and a not-to-exceed $1,300,000 water revenue capital loan note for other water projects. Staff explained the north transmission main and booster pump are needed to provide redundancy and adequate pressure on the east side of Boone to support current customers and expected growth.

Public comment and written submissions raised five core questions: the consequences of not proceeding, the scope of the projects in lay terms, the length of debt service, whether property taxes would rise and whether levy rates would be lowered after payoff. Resident Evan Jorgensen urged the council to consider paying from service revenue rather than using the property tax levy, saying it "could make more sense to have this come out of revenue from your services rather than... the tax levy." Andrea responded that accelerated three-year financing reduces interest costs and avoids a capital fee that would otherwise be about $8 until additional revenues materialize.

Council members and staff framed the investments as necessary to maintain service and enable growth. One council member summarized the scale of deferred work, saying the city faces about "$30,000,000 worth of improvements" because earlier projects were deferred; the upgrades are intended to prevent service failures and position the city for future industry and residential expansion.

Following the hearing, the council voted to institute proceedings for the $2,146,000 general obligation note and adopted related resolutions for issuing notes and levying taxes for repayment where required. The council also adopted the $1.3 million water revenue capital loan note proceeding. Votes were taken by roll call; the motions passed with a majority affirmative vote.

Next steps include formalizing the loan documents and publishing statutory notices as the city moves into design and procurement. The council and staff said they will continue to provide public detail on project scope, timing and estimated impacts to tax and utility bills as plans are finalized.