Public Hearing: YES ☐ NO ☒ Department: Finance
SUBJECT:
Title
Commission District(s): All Commission Districts
Appropriation of $7,400,000 from the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST II; approx. $2.5mm from Parks & Recreation - C1 and approx. $4.9mm from Water & Sewer and/or Stormwater - D1) to meet the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program Loan (CWIFP) match requirement for dam repair and rehabilitation.
Body
Information Contact: Dianne McNabb, Chief Financial Officer & Robert Atkins, Treasurer
Phone Number: (404) 304-4736 & (678)-910-5638
PURPOSE:
To appropriate $7,400,000 from the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST II; approx. $2.5mm from Parks & Recreation - C1 and approx. $4.9mm from Water & Sewer and/or Stormwater - D1) to meet the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program Loan (CWIFP) match requirement for dam repair and rehabilitation.
CWIFP is a credit assistance program, authorized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), that provides direct loans to non-Federal entities for dam safety and levee projects, analogous to the Water Infrastructure Finance and Authorization Act (WIFIA), which is authorized by the EPA. The program enables critical local infrastructure investments to improve public safety. CWIFP provides significant financial savings to local taxpayers while leveraging minimal federal investment and risk.
In September of 2024, USACE notified the County that our project Letter of Interest had been selected to submit a full application. The CWIFP will cover 80% of the County’s Project Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) cost and the County is responsible for the remaining 20%. DRIP will repair and upgrade 12 of the County’s Category 1 and 2 dams. The total cost is $37,000,010, the loan amount is $29,525,597, and the County obligation is $7,400,000.
The County Expects to complete the application by September 2025. We will come back to the BOC for the CWIFP loan approval.
NEED/IMPACT:
The County has determined that the Dam Project Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (as described in the CWIFP Loan Application) will benefit and protect the citizens of DeKalb County, and the County has determined that a portion of certain eligible costs related to the Project should be paid with the proceeds to be received by the County from the CWIFP loan.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The SPLOST funds that were previously allocated to Stormwater will be reduced by $7,400,000.
CWIFP registration fee is $25,000. The current loan rate approximates 4.7%.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
To appropriate $7,400,000 from the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST II; approx. $2.5mm from Parks & Recreation - C1 and approx. $4.9mm from Water & Sewer and/or Stormwater - D1) to meet the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Corps Water Infrastructure Financing Program Loan (CWIFP) match requirement for dam repair and rehabilitation.