LMR_January_FINAL

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Rural Development USDA Helps Bring Safe, Clean Water to Small Louisiana Communities By USDA Rural Development State Director Dr. Carrie Castille Reliable infrastructure is a necessity for economic opportunity, public health, and the environment--- especially water infrastructure. Modern infrastructure is crucial for any community to thrive, and when we address this need, many other challenges in rural communities become much more manageable. In Fiscal Year 2018, the USDA Rural Development (RD) Water and Environmental Programs (WEP) invested over $100 million in loans and grants to help construct, improve, repair, and maintain water and wastewater systems in small rural communities throughout Louisiana. Through WEP, RD provides funding for infrastructure improvements for reliable drinking water systems, sanitary solid waste disposal, and effective storm water drainage to households and businesses. An eligible rural area is a city or town with a population of less than 10,000. Long-term, lowinterest loans are available for eligible borrowers who are unable to obtain commercial credit for reasonable terms. Modern infrastructure investments and access to safe drinking water and waste disposal systems are vital to creating economic prosperity for our small rural communities. Without RD’s help, many communities would lack access to safe water. For example, RD’s investments are making a difference for the following communities to improve the delivery of safe drinking water in Louisiana: • The Ascension Parish Consolidated Utility District is receiving a $9.6 million loan and $7.8 million grant to rehabilitate the water distribution system to reduce water loss and improve water quality to 18,359 citizens. • The Town of Haughton will receive a $6.8 million loan and $2.9 million grant to increase water capacity at the Bullard and Buc Stop lift stations to meet current and future demands. Force mains and a chlorine contact chamber will be installed along with renovations to the wastewater treatment plant that serves 3,454 customers in Bossier. • The Consolidated Water Works District #13 of Feliciana will use a $5.8 million loan and $1.9 million grant to upgrade their water system to meet current industry standards. The entire system will be modernized for efficiency to serve 10,043 users. • The Town of Coushatta received a $4.1 million loan and $2.8 Dr. Carrie Castille million grant to drill two water wells and replace a 50-year-old water storage tank and service lines for the town’s population of 2,139 residents. • The Town of Gibsland will use a $2.5 loan and $1.9 million grant to install a clarifier, refurbish the existing aeration system and install new water mains where needed. 13,100 linear feet of pipe will also be installed for access to safe clean drinking water for the town of 979 residents. Applications are accepted year-round. Eligible rural communities and water districts can apply online for funding to maintain, modernize, or construct water and wastewater systems. They can visit the interactive RD Apply tool, or contact the Acting Community Programs Director lee.jones@la.usda.gov or calling (318) 473-4740. We could not have done this alone. Thank you for your support and your partnerships. You are extremely valuable in helping to carry out the mission of RD. RD investments support economic development, infrastructure improvements, homeownership, and essential community facilities and services in rural areas. We must continue working together to help our rural water and sewer systems in need of access to reliable infrastructure for clean drinking water and sanitary waste disposal. My team and I are here to help, please contact me at carrie.castille@la.usda.gov or (318) 473-7921. Page 12 LMR | January 2019
Partner Insight Treasury Notes Treasury Year in Review By State Treasurer John M. Schroder When I was first elected to the job of State Treasurer a year ago, one of my goals was to educate the public about the many different functions of the Treasurer’s Office. I’ve written several columns for the LMA about Treasury’s divisions and the job we perform for Louisiana taxpayers. I’d like to close out the year with a recap of what our various divisions have accomplished in 2018. Here are some of the highlights: Fiscal Division • Restructured the state’s banking agreement to save state agencies $250,000 this fiscal year and $1.8 million over five years. • Processed 11.4 million deposit items and 72,098 credit items, resulting in a cash flow of over $40.7 billion. • Improved the state’s cash interfund borrowing position to -$543.7 million as of November 30 compared to -$931.5 million this time last year, eliminating the need for mid-year financing with Revenue Anticipation Notes (RANs). Investments • Continued to manage fixed-income investments in the START 529 program. The program closed out the year with $873 million in total investments. • Managed state trust fund investments, which now total $3.1 billion. • Launched the LA-ABLE Program with the Board of Regents to help Louisiana families save for disability-related expenses. LA-ABLE closed out the year with $448,514 in total investments. Unclaimed Property (Unclaimed Money) • Returned $18 million in unclaimed money by the end of November compared to $10 million this time last year. • Partnered with the Department of Revenue to update Treasury’s address database, which will result in the mailing of 83,000 checks totaling $20 million by the end of December 2018. • Implemented a Fast Track online claims system to make it easier than ever before for citizens to claim their unclaimed money. Many claims now qualify for Fast Track and are paid immediately. • Returned the largest single amount of unclaimed money ($2.3 million) ever in the Treasury’s history. • Supported federal efforts to release billions of dollars in unclaimed retirement benefits to state Unclaimed Property offices so we could return this money to Louisiana citizens. Bond Commission • Launched an online transparency portal for capital outlay information so the public can see how the Legislature appropriates construction dollars. • Worked with other state partners and the Legislature to improve the outlook on the state’s credit rating. Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s both raised the outlook on the state’s credit from Negative to Stable. • Managed 44 bond issues, paid $582 million in debt service payments on time, and made $11.64 million in interest rate swap payments. • Reviewed 223 debt issuance applications totaling $4.9 billion and 237 local government elections. The Treasury also worked with several lawmakers this year on a variety of good government bills. One major success was our partnership with a variety of organizations to help pass Louisiana checkbook legislation. A broad coalition of public and private partners supported this effort to improve transparency and provide taxpayers with more detailed information about state government spending. Legislation to set up a revolving loan bank for local governments to fund infrastructure projects passed the Legislature, but was vetoed by the Governor. We are working to bring this bill up again in the future. I also want to work with lawmakers to keep the conversation going about capital outlay and pension reform. We’ve compiled a solid list of accomplishments this year, but there is still much more to do. Rest assured we will continue to do the best job possible. After all, we report to you – Louisiana taxpayers – and we take this very seriously. LMR | January 2019 Page 13
Page 1 and 2: Louisiana Municipal Review PUBLISHE
Page 3 and 4: Inside the LMA Director’s Viewpoi
Page 5 and 6: Inside the LMA Governor’s Column
Page 7 and 8: Inside the LMA Legal Briefs ONCE MO
Page 9 and 10: Chosen to Lead: The Good Example of
Page 11: A Word from Our Affiliates Come Cel
Page 15 and 16: Municipalities Grant Parish “Stev
Page 17 and 18: Municipalities Leesville and Rosepi
Page 19 and 20: Feature The design and planning for
Page 21 and 22: Feature One building remains, Parke
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LMR_January_FINAL

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