Ortonville- The village council has approved ballot language for a November vote on a proposed wastewater treatment system.
The council unanimously approved at their June 22 meeting a sewage disposal system contract proposition to be submitted to the Oakland County Elections Board. If the language is approved by the county elections officials, the proposition will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
The submitted ballot language reads:
‘The proposed Oakland County Ortonville Sewage Disposal System Contract between the County of Oakland and the Village of Ortonville dated as of Dec. 1, 2015 provides for the acquisition and construction of sewage disposal facilities comprising the Oakland County Ortonville Sewage Disposal System Project at an estimated cost of $20,000,000, for the issuance of bonds by the County of Oakland in one or more series to defray the costs of such facilities and for the pledge of the full faith and credit of the Village of Ortonville to the payment of amounts to the County of Oakland which are sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on such bonds. Pursuant to such pledge, the Village of Ortonville is obligated, subject to constitutional, statutory and charter tax limitations, to levy ad valorem taxes on all taxable property in the Village of Ortonville to enable it to make such payments to the County of Oakland to the extent that other funds, including special assessment and sewage disposal system revenues, are not available. Shall the contract be approved??
The ballot language was drafted by the village’s bonding attorney. The elections board will study the wording for clarity to voters and approve or disapprove of the language. The language must be approved by Aug. 11 in order for the issue to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot.
‘The document is fairly easy to follow,? said Village Manager John Lyons. ‘The language is accurate to the law, there are certain things that have to be in there. No one else is capable of selling the bonds.?
The ballot language being submitted to the elections board was accompanied by a 3-page resolution explaining further to the board that upon approval by a majority of voters, ‘the execution of a contract between the county and the village relating to the acquisition and construction of the Oakland County Ortonville Sewage Disposal System; providing for the payment of the cost thereof by the village to the county in annual installments with interest and expenses; providing for the financing of all or part of the cost by the issuance of county bonds in one or more series secured by the obligations of the village and payable primarily from the annual installments to be paid by the village to the county; providing for the pledging of the full faith and credit and the limited taxing power of the village for the making of such payments; and providing for other matters relating to the project and the acquisition, construction, financing and operation thereof, all under and pursuant to Act No. 342, Public Acts of Michigan, 1939, as amended.?
Lyons explains that Act 342 is the vehicle used to allow a larger entity? in this case, the county? to sell the bonds for the village, in order for the village to be able to obtain such a large loan, as well as a lower interest rate. If voters approve the proposition, the village will seek a 40-year Rural Development Loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay for the project, which would put a special assessment of about $25,550 on each residential equivalency unit in the village limits. With interest, the assessment alone could cost homeowners nearly $50,000 over the course of the loan. Additionally, proposed annual maintenance fees are currently estimated to be about $600 and would increase with inflation.
Economic development, environmental health, and the high cost of engineered septic fields to replace failing ones are the most-often cited reasons for bringing sewers to the village. The issue has been debated for decades, while costs for a potential wastewater treatment system rise. Also increasing are the costs for engineered septic fields, often needed when existing septic fields fail on small village lots.
Since 2008, 38 septic systems have failed in the village, requiring replacement with engineered fields.
The costly wastewater treatment system project has drawn criticism and outrage from residents, dozens of whom expressed their disapproval at a March 23 village council meeting and demanded the matter be voted on or dropped entirely.
‘The people have made it clear they want a vote Nov. 3 and that is what we will do,? said Lyons Monday.