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approximately the amount needed to finance the first five years of construction projects, as included in <br />the Facilities Plan, taking into account inflation. The first issuance of approximately $35,000,000 in <br />revenue bonds is planned for September 2005. Subsequent issuances would occur over approximately a <br />five-year period, and would be planned strategically under the advisement of MWMC's Financial <br />Advisor. <br /> <br />The regional wastewater sewer user rate established by MWMC to cover operations, capital <br />improvements and debt service is proposed to increase by 6% in fiscal year 2005-2006, an increase <br />which equates to about 70 cents per month on an average residential sewer bill. The proposed FY06 <br />budget for MWMC has been ratified by the City of Eugene and Lane County; the City of Springfield <br />will address this budget on June 20, 2005. Without the timely issuance of revenue bonds it would <br />require at least a 65% increase in user rates to generate sufficient funds to support the CIP, which <br />equates to an increase of over $7.00 per month on the average residential user's monthly bill. <br /> <br />Other Background Information <br />The proposed amendments to the intergovernmental agreement for the Metropolitan Wastewater <br />Management Commission are presented in Attachment A (which is in legislative format) and <br />Attachment B (which is a clean copy for improved readability). These amendments are the culmination <br />of several years of work reviewing the agreement. The scope of the review initially included only <br />changes to align the IGA with changes in operational and physical sewerage system conditions and <br />public policies, which have evolved over the past 25 years. With the adoption of the 2004 MWMC <br />Facilities Plan, review of the IGA was necessarily expanded to support implementation of the Facilities <br />Plan and enable the use of low-cost financing mechanisms needed to serve the metropolitan area for the <br />next twenty years. <br /> <br />The majority of the changes proposed in the IGA are related to the need for periodic updates to reflect <br />current operational practices, adopted plans, and metro-wide policy documents. These modifications do <br />not reflect or implement any changes in the relationship or authorities between the governing bodies and <br />the MWMC. The modifications will result in an agreement that is aligned with administrative and <br />operational practices and that is consistent with current regional planning policies and terminologies. <br />Proposed modifications to this end include: <br /> <br />· Update the language to reflect adopted Metro Plan terms and policies. <br />· Update the financing guidance by deleting Exhibit B (which refers to the 1992 Financial Plan, the <br /> County Service District and General Obligation bonding) and replace it with MWMC's 2003 <br /> Financial Plan (including the financial policies and revenue bonding strategy). Move relevant <br /> financial management guidance from Exhibit B into the main body of the IGA. <br /> <br />· Change the directive from "compensating" the cities for the regional facilities to "facilitating timely <br /> transfer of ownership," with the same consideration of funding equity among all sewer users that <br /> currently exists. <br />· Eliminate provisions referencing triggers for planning to expand capacity (Section 9 of the IGA), <br /> because the 2004 Facilities Plan and its updates replace the need for this provision. As <br /> recommended, the changes continue the requirement of obtaining governing body approval for the <br /> partial and comprehensive facility plan updates that are scheduled at five-year intervals during the <br /> planning period. The recommended changes also allow MWMC to make other relatively minor <br /> revisions to the facility plan, such as the annual updates to the regional CIP, without governing body <br /> approval. Notwithstanding these recommended changes to the IGA, however, the governing bodies <br /> <br /> L:\CMO\2005 Council Agendas\M050523\S0505234.doc <br /> <br /> <br />