Orange County NC Website
Mr. Morris stated "let me ask a straight forward question. <br />What is the County thinking about relative to the financial responsi- <br />bility. If the County went ahead and build a dam and the Authority <br />pumped from it. Is the County thinking that this financial burden or <br />this financial cost would be. a part of the total County tax base contri- <br />bution to total County water resources, or are you thinking in terms of <br />some sort of partial charge or whole charge to the Authority over .a <br />period of time?" <br />Commissioner Gustaveson replied "I think Flo has already hinted <br />at one of the issues involved here. I think that the feeling is that <br />_ total County tax money is for use by everybody without really affecting <br />water rates. .Now the problem is for those institutions that are large <br />water users that do not pay County tax, there maybe a problem." <br />Mr. Morris asked "you mean the University." <br />Mr. Gustaveson's reply was "yes." <br />Commissioner Gustaveson continued "but I think it's a question <br />we should talk about and work out a way to provide equity and provide <br />fairness for the tax payers of the County so they would not be shoul- <br />Bering a major capital expenditure." <br />Mr. Howes asked "would it be possible to share debt service bet- <br />e: ween the general tax base of the County and the users of the system?" <br />Mrs. Garrett replied "that was the idea, with the bulk rate." <br />Commissioner Gustaveson continued "but getting back to shirley's <br />question, it will add something to the tax base, so I think also if <br />you go .... ~~ <br />Mr. Howes interrupted, "but there would be another way that it <br />would not do that at all. Couldn't it be paid off entirely by the <br />rate payers of the system here?" <br />Mrs. Garrett replied "well it could if we dad it that way, by <br />the bulk rate..... (cannot decipher) <br />MT. Howes stated "the Authority would buy all the water that <br />is produced from it and the payments to the County would be .... <br />so that there would be no impact on the County. It seems to me that <br />is one option that needs to be seriously considered." <br />General Hurow stated "based on the meeting we had last week and <br />based on the general attitude as to the users, I would favor that <br />direction against spreading it out all over the County." <br />Don Willhoit asked "what you are saying then is to have the <br />users to pay against County funds?" <br />General Hurow replied "yes." <br />Ms. Marshall stated "then this includes all the people whether <br />they pay taxes or don't pay taxes." <br />Mr. Willhoit added "the total cost would still be less because <br />of the method of financing, but also I think we should address our- <br />. selves to the question of other consumers who might want to utilize <br />that water supply." <br />Mrs. Garrett stated "that's what I was thinking and that's why I <br />was saying bulk rather than just automatic interest and principle <br />retirement, that there is same other benefit for the whole community." <br />Mr. Willho~a stated "either the Authority has to have the charge <br />to provide water for all consumers within the area or....." <br />Mr. Howes interrupted, "my guess would be, well to go back to <br />what 2 said in the beginning, and that is from my point of view is <br />the purpose of this whole enterprise is to provide the water supply <br />to this community, and that supply has been identified and planned <br />for over a period of years and if you begin to take away from that <br />for other purposes, I think we would be in for problems." <br />