Missoula County opposes HB 618: Revise laws related to special districts, up for hearing at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 in House Local Government.
Special districts provide a valuable tool to local governments and their citizens to address the pressing needs or concerns of their communities, like water quality, sewer needs and weed control. HB 618 seeks to create a process that requires voting on these vital services every six years, which would negatively impact the abilities of special districts to provide and plan for long-term needs.
For example, the water and sewer special district in Lolo will need to undertake several million dollars in repairs and updates to stay in compliance with state DEQ requirements. This district would not be able to issue bonds to help spread the cost of these repairs over 20 years and would instead be forced to finance them over a shorter period of time, leading to increased costs for residents of Lolo.
Representative Thane,
ReplyDeleteMissoula County opposes HB 618: Revise laws related to special districts, up for hearing at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23 in House Local Government.
Special districts provide a valuable tool to local governments and their citizens to address the pressing needs or concerns of their communities, like water quality, sewer needs and weed control. HB 618 seeks to create a process that requires voting on these vital services every six years, which would negatively impact the abilities of special districts to provide and plan for long-term needs.
For example, the water and sewer special district in Lolo will need to undertake several million dollars in repairs and updates to stay in compliance with state DEQ requirements. This district would not be able to issue bonds to help spread the cost of these repairs over 20 years and would instead be forced to finance them over a shorter period of time, leading to increased costs for residents of Lolo.
Please oppose HB 618.