EARLVILLE – The Village of Earlville is moving forward with a capital project to update its municipal water system, a project that will cost $3.09 million. Some village residents are upset that the board seems to be proceeding without putting the project up for a public vote.
On Monday night, the Earlville Village Board voted to approve a resolution to secure bonding for the water project, with three consenting votes. Trustee Kim Boomhower was not at the meeting due to a leave of absence.
The next village board meeting on Aug. 27 will include a public hearing and a special meeting to follow. At the meeting, the board may pass a resolution authorizing the issuance of bonds for a capital water improvement project pending a period of permissive referendum.
Last month, the Earlville Board held a public meeting about the water project, and Mayor Toni Campbell had discussed options for the referendum. Normally with a capital project, the plan is put out to a public vote, and eligible voters decide whether or not they want to proceed with the project. Campbell also mentioned a permissive referendum. Using this option, the village would obtain bond counsel, and then village residents would have 30 days to submit a petition for a public referendum.
After the meeting, Village Clerk Christian Vischi explained the village is pursuing the permissive referendum in order to lock in the interest rate for the project. Earlville was offered a $500,000 grant from USDA Rural Development for the water system upgrade, and USDA is offering to finance the remainder of the project over a 38-year period at an interest rate of 3.625 percent. In order to secure funding, the village must submit a funding application by Sept. 30. Vischi said the public referendum could have held up the process and possibly resulted in an interest rate of 5 to 6 percent.
“We didn’t take away the right for people to hold a vote, they just need to submit a petition after Aug. 27,” Vischi said. If the project is voted down during the permissive referendum, the application is automatically denied. The result of the permissive referendum is the only item that may be submitted after the application deadline.
“My opinion is that as a municipality, everything we do must be to the benefit of the entire village. We had two choices [Monday]: Automatically put the project to vote or move forward with it. The board voted unanimously to move forward with the project. We believe as a whole that the next step in this process should be to pursue funding, not to hold the process up waiting for an election in November,” said Campbell. The village could have attempted to hold a special election, run by the village clerk, but time lines for public notices would have pushed the vote back until mid-September. Due to a state law which states if an election is to take place within 60 days of an established election, it must be held on the day of that election, therefore vote probably wouldn’t have occurred before November.
“As a representative of the residents of Earlville, I understand that their opinion counts, and it counts a great deal. However, I think many factors have come together to make this the opportune time for this board to pursue this project. Prior administrations had a chance to do this project years ago for an amount far less than the $3 million we are looking at. Given the current global and national economy, realistically without this interest rate, the Village of Earlville cannot afford a project of this magnitude. It is simply not financially feasible. I have heard from many residents that they would like to see this move forward. They state that now is the time, and frankly I agree with them. However, there is, by law, a period of permissive referendum and those that feel strongly enough can submit a petition. But I believe the majority of our tax payers want this project to commence,” Campbell said.
A public hearing on the project will take place at 7 p.m. on Aug. 27 at the Fire Department.