Saranac Lake board creates emergency water and sewer grant and loan program with eligibility limits

The Saranac Lake Village Board authorized the creation of an Emergency Water & Sewer Grant and Loan Program to assist ratepayers who face unexpectedly large water or sewer bills due to leaks, breaks or other circumstances.

Under the resolution trustees directed the Village Manager to develop program guidelines for board consideration. The minutes list eligibility and program parameters: grants may be considered once per account for primary residences located in the village where the household is at or below 80% of median household income for Franklin and Essex counties (whichever is higher), or where the owner is disabled or age 65 or older. Grants are calculated as the current charge minus the average charge from the previous four quarters and will be available only if the current quarterly charge is at least 25% higher than that four-quarter average.

One-time loans are available to all village account holders with terms of one, two or five years at a fixed 2% interest rate; loan amounts use the same calculation as grants. The Village Manager or designee is authorized to determine whether an application meets criteria and, if so, may approve the application.

The resolution passed on roll call with Trustee Ryan recorded as voting no and the remaining trustees voting yes.

Next steps: The Village Manager will present program guidelines to the board for consideration and approval before the program is implemented; the resolution directs that grant funds will move between the community development fund and the water and sewer funds so the latter are made whole.