Covering The Cost: How Small Town Orleans, MA Applied Creative Funding Sources For New Wastewater Infrastructure

Background
Following 40 years of planning, the Town of Orleans, MA (Figure 1) approved a plan in 2017 that minimized the wastewater system footprint, and utilized non-traditional treatment technologies (e.g., aquaculture, Permeable Reactive Barriers). The Comprehensive Wastewater Management Plan (CWMP) footprint was reduced from 60% of the Town (650,000 gpd ADF) to 24% of the Town (350,000 gpd ADF; Schematic – Figure 2; Downtown Area – Figure 3; and Meetinghouse Pond Area – Figure 4). However, how to pay for it becomes the million-dollar question in today's economic conditions. Objectives and Goals 1. Review alternative methods in calculating betterments to pay the Capital Costs for the Town's Wastewater Infrastructure. 2. Provide a fair and equitable allocation of costs to assess the parcels abutting a public sewer. 3. Identify and develop creative funding sources to reduce the implementation costs paid by the Town's property owners.
Activities 1. Financial Model AECOM and its subconsultant, The Abrahams Group, assisted the Town in the development of a Financial Model to run scenarios and predict user costs for the various components of the Town's Wastewater Infrastructure components which included: (a) Downtown Area; (b) Meetinghouse Pond Area; and (c) Non-traditional Technologies. The Model has the ability to: (a) predict costs to user groups; (b) account for Capital and Operation and Maintenance Costs; and (c) predict costs to parcels based on water use. The objectives of the Model were: (a) develop a method to inform Town decisions for current and future planning (Table 1); (b) estimate annual wastewater costs for rate payers; and (c) provide 'Built-in Flexibility' to allow changes to cost allocations to user groups to produce fair financial assessments and planning (Table 2). Base assumptions were: (a) betterments utilized to pay the capital costs for Collection System and Pumping Stations; (b) taxes utilized to pay the capital costs for the Wastewater Treatment Facility, Aquifer Recharge, and Non-Traditional Technologies; (c) user fees utilized to pay for Operation and Maintenance Costs; and (d) connection costs paid by the individual property owners.
2. Special Legislation Following approval at the October 2020 Special Town Meeting, the Town submitted Special Legislation (Legislation or House Bill 2196) to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in February 2021. House Bill 2196 is an Act authorizing the Town to rescind Chapter 381 of the Acts of 2008 and to adopt a Sewer Assessment Bylaw. This legislation is a critical funding element of the Town's Wastewater Infrastructure implementation identified in the Town's approved CWMP. The Certificate from the Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs (January 2011) noted that a significant capital cost plan needed to: (a) share costs between all households who benefit from the Wastewater Infrastructure, and (b) be funded through municipal debt, net of any grants or subsidies, through user and non-user property taxation. House Bill 2196 provides a more fair and equitable allocation of costs relative to the uniform unit method utilizing sewer unit values based upon water usage to assess the parcels abutting a public sewer. Based on financial modeling, the prescribed methods in M.G.L. Ch. 80 and M.G.L Ch. 83 for apportioning the cost of betterments, including assessed property value or frontage, would cause financial hardship onto many small downtown businesses and the residents of condominium parcels. House Bill 2196 also rescinds a prior 2008 provision that considered an approach to fund sewer project costs through a 'checkerboarding' method (e.g., connect parcels that are high priority and not connect to those parcels that may be lower density or relatively high cost).
3. Sewer Assessment Bylaw AECOM assisted the Town in the development of a Sewer Assessment Bylaw to recover the costs of the design and construction of the collection system and pumping stations. The Sewer Assessment Bylaw is based on a uniform unit method (pending Special Legislation approval), utilizing the prior 3-Year average of daily water usage with a sewer unit being not less than one. The uniform unit method is based upon construction costs divided among the total number of existing and potential sewer units to be served, after having proportioned the cost of special and general benefit activities (Table 3). Some key components are: (a) each sewer unit shall be equal to a single-family residence based on a three year analysis of water usage; (b) Sewer units for undeveloped properties are based on the highest and best use permitted as a right of the Zoning then in effect; (c) existing and potential multifamily, commercial, industrial and semipublic uses shall be converted into sewer units on the basis of residential equivalents; (d) betterment payment options including a lump-sum or apportionment; (e) Privilege and Compensatory Fees, in lieu of betterment assessment or increased usage and/or change in use; and (f) Property owners are responsible for all costs to connect to the Town's Wastewater Infrastructure.
4. Creative Financing AECOM assisted the Town in the development and implementation of the following creative funding and financing components.
A. State Revolving Fund (SRF) Applied for and received approval to utilize this state managed fund, which receives federal and state monies to support loans for wastewater and drinking water projects. Projects that are focused on nutrient removal are eligible for 0% interest loans and the possibility of some principal forgiveness over the 30-year term.
B. Wastewater Stabilization Fund Created a Stabilization Fund for funding of the wastewater projects. Expenditures from the fund requires a 2/3rds vote from Town Meeting.
C. Increase the Hotel/Motel Tax Increased the local Hotel/Motel Tax from 4% to 6% which is deposited into the Wastewater Stabilization Fund.
D. Short-term Rental Tax In late 2018, the State enacted an amendment to the existing hotel/motel tax to include a new tax on short-term rentals in private homes for rentals less than 31 days. This new revenue stream, that began in July 2019, is deposited directly into the Town's Wastewater Stabilization Fund.
E. Cape Cod & Islands Water Protection Fund Trust Fund to provide financial assistance to Cape Cod & Island Towns for water and wastewater infrastructure projects. The Fund is financed through a 2.75% surtax on the hotel/motel and short-term rental taxes in the region. The Fund provides up to a 25% grant of the construction cost of the wastewater infrastructure.
Results/Lessons Learned A. The Town has created a fiscally sound funding and financing plan for the implementation of its Wastewater Infrastructure which meets its objectives and goals. Refer to Table 4. B. The Town continues to review and modify its funding and financing plan to adjust for current wastewater planning activities and future funding sources. The presentation will highlight the Wastewater Infrastructure Plan, Funding and Financing Plan and Results/Lessons Learned.