Agenda - 04-19-1994-IX-A - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

6 The owners of both multi-user and individual systems would also be required to enter a contractual lien/debt agreement with the County that would assure the availability of funding to cover any shortfall in letter of credit or escrowed funding for repairs. Combining the letter of credit/escrow fund strategy with the lien strategy would insure the availability of funds while minimizing the County' s exposure to collection problems. Both the lien and the letter of credit/escrow fund strategies could be legislated by inclusion into the County' s local health regulations. EXISTING SYSTEMS It is not known if strategies involving letters of credit or escrow funds will be suitable for dealing with existing systems. Much more research will be required to make a determination on this point. However, it may be possible to use the lien strategy or a combination of the lien strategy with the letter of credit/escrow fund strategies to assure the availability of funding for existing systems. If these strategies prove to be useful, they could be implemented by: 1) modifying local health regulations to require periodic renewal of operating permits for all individual and multi-home systems; and 2) requiring that a letter or credit/escrow fund and a contractual lien agreement be a condition of permit renewal. As noted earlier, another strategy for dealing with existing system failures is the use of the Health Director' s authority to require system repairs as necessary to address a public health problem, to expend the necessary funds and to seek reimbursement for those expenditures through an adjudication process. IMPLEMENTATION The process of dealing with liens, letters of credit and escrow funds will require the development of procedures whereby the County coordinates its activities and requirements with financial institutions. In addition, the County will have to utilize the Revenue Collector' s office to pursue debt collection as well as the Finance and Budget Departments to provide the administrative tracking and oversight necessary to insure that each escrow account and letter of credit remains in force, is fully funded and is periodically adjusted to account for inflation. The additional resources required to provide for these types of administrative tasks have not been calculated nor has a strategy to fund these resources been developed. It may be possible to recover these expenses through permitting and inspection fees. In summary, there is no simple strategy which can assure the availability of funds, at no cost to the County, for repair of alternative technology waste treatment systems. The combination of strategies outlined above is as failsafe as possible but will require significant financial expertise and administrative oversight.