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Clinton council adopts amended water rates and authorizes bonds to reimburse B Branch acquisition and fund improvements
Summary
The council unanimously adopted a water-rate ordinance incorporating former B Branch customers and authorized water/sewer revenue bonds to finance system improvements and reimburse the city for acquiring B Branch assets; one bond series is repayable and a second series is structured as principal forgiveness.
Clinton’s City Council on a unanimous vote adopted an ordinance to fold former B Branch customers into the city’s water-rate structure and approved a bond package to finance water system improvements and reimburse acquisition costs.
The rate ordinance adds a $6 debt-service line item for affected accounts and raises the per-thousand charge for former B Branch customers by $1, measures the city said were reviewed and accepted by ANRC. The council suspended the rules to place the ordinance on first, second and third reading by title only and adopted it with an emergency clause so the rate changes take effect immediately.
Ryan Bowman explained the financing to the council: the package authorizes two series of bonds. Bowman described one series (referred to in the meeting as series 2025C) as the repayable loan and a second series (2025D) as principal-forgiveness funds that function like a grant as the city draws the funds. Bowman told the council the 2025D principal-forgiveness portion was $2,622,363.75 and said principal on that series is forgiven as funds are drawn, subject to compliance with federal conditions administered through the city’s engineers. "That's in essence a grant," Bowman said.
Bowman said the repayable series carries an interest rate of 0.5% plus a 1% servicing fee; under the terms explained on the record the city will pay interest only through March 1, 2028, and begin principal-and-interest payments on April 1, 2028, on a 30-year amortization schedule. The transcript did not clearly record the exact principal amount stated for the repayable series (2025C) during the meeting; the council record and loan documents will provide the precise figure.
Council members asked staff to make account-specific comparisons available for customers; staff said the utility office will produce printouts so individual customers can see how the rate changes affect their bills. The ordinance and bond authorization passed on unanimous roll-call votes.
What happens next: city staff and the engineering firm will proceed with loan closing and drawdown steps required by the funding program; the principal-forgiveness portion is conditioned on federal compliance, Bowman said. The bond ordinance did not include an emergency clause; the rate ordinance did.
