ST. LOUIS — The April 6 ballot will let voters determine how the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District will pay for $1.58 billion in required improvements over the next four years — and how much their bills increase during that span.
The measure, called Proposition Y, appears on ballots in St. Louis and St. Louis County. The funding in question will support nearly 300 upgrades, repairs, and other projects that aim to eliminate sewer overflows and improve water quality.
The projects are mandated in a nearly decade-old settlement among MSD, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the nonprofit Missouri Coalition for the Environment. The groups’ agreement came after hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage were discharged into local waterways over many years.
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Voters have two options for how MSD covers the necessary investments. Proposition Y would let the utility finance some of the work by issuing $500 million in bonds and repay the debt over 20 to 30 years.
“Do you want to pay for this with bond financing or do you want to pay for this with cash?” said Sean Hadley, MSD’s manager of public affairs. “Regardless of how people vote, yes or no, the work has to get done.”
If a majority of people vote “yes,” bills will rise about 3% per year through 2024, going from $56.40 to $62.59 a month for a typical single-family residence. Under this scenario, however, long-term costs would ultimately be greater, thanks to interest on the borrowed money.
If a majority of people vote “no,” MSD would be unable to use bond financing. In that case, bills would spike by about 15% a year through 2024, driving the typical monthly bill up to $86.12. The utility wouldn’t incur any interest, which could save customers money over the very long run.
The rate proposal was reviewed by an independent commission in 2019. Proposition Y was originally supposed to be on ballots last April, but was pushed back following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
MSD has placed five other items on the ballot regarding potential changes to its charter. They largely address procedural changes and look to modernize what Hadley described as “outdated” language from the charter, which was written in 1954.
One item, for instance, looks to remove the requirement that at least two board members from both St. Louis and St. Louis County approve new rules or ordinances. Hadley said the utility has faced instances where that condition could not be met because members had to abstain from voting because of conflicts of interest, even if there was total agreement on an issue.
If approved by voters, the new rule would make it so that “any four yes votes will suffice for passage,” as long as there is unanimous consent and five board members are present.
Another item asks voters about increasing compensation for people such as trustees and commission members who attend public MSD meetings. The compensation would not exceed $625 a year.
MSD is holding its final online town hall about the ballot measures on Wednesday, March 31. The utility’s website also offers an online calculator tool that lets customers see how much Proposition Y’s different payment strategies would affect their own bills.
Bryce Gray • 314-340-8307 @_BryceGray on Twitter bgray@post-dispatch.com