Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
Attachment 1 4 <br />WATER/SEWER ASSESSMENT POLICY IDECISION POINTS <br />Introduction <br />The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) has expressed its interest and <br />intent to consider a policy of assessment for County funded utility extension projects. To <br />that end, Staff has outlined a series of policy decision points for BOCC review and <br />reference. Much of the assessment process and administrative procedures are outlined by <br />North Carolina General Statutes (NCGS). However, there are options available to the <br />BOCC that allow for customization of the assessment process. These are as follows. <br />Decision # 1• Percentage of the total proiect cost to be recovered through assessment <br />Decision Summary <br />The BOCC may elect to assess for any percentage of the total project cost, up to <br />100%. This total project cost can include not only the cost to construct the system, but <br />may also include costs for engineering and design, construction supervision, legal fees, <br />costs for obtaining easements, interest on construction loans, etc. An assessment policy <br />would state the percentage of the total costs to be assessed for each project and what <br />types of costs make up that total. As an example, the OWASA assessment policy <br />approved by their board does not assess for engineering and design fees up to 15% of the <br />total project cost or legal fees up to 5% of the total project cost. <br />The BOCC may also want to consider establishing other offsets to total cost in <br />the County's policy. The most prominent example would be to subtract from the total <br />cost of the project the value of any grant money received for the project. In the case of <br />discounting assessments based on grant money received, it will be important to note <br />whether the terms and conditions of the grant specifically indicate or limit who is <br />supposed to benefit from the grant money and/or how to treat the grant money with <br />regards to assessments. <br />Decision # 2: 8asis(es) for the assessment <br />Decision Summary <br />A County policy on utility assessment should outline how the total costs will be <br />apportioned to the beneficiaries of the new utility. The NCGS spells out several bases <br />available for the County to use, as follows: <br />Street frontage of the parcels to be served <br />Utility frontage of the parcels to be served <br />Area of the parcels to be served <br />