Williams faces big sewer bill

Williams property owners may be faced with an $8,641 sewer connection assessment to help pay for a new $25 million wastewater treatment plant.

“If the federal government says we have to do this, then how can they not give us at least a little money to help us out?” asked Williams homeowner Antonio Tinoco.

Finding money to build the new plant in Williams was the topic of a crowded and tense public information meeting at City Hall on Tuesday.

Ballots for a special districtassessment to raise money for the plant were mailed to property owners on Dec. 19 and voting closes Jan. 30.

If the assessment is approved, city property owners with the potential to connect to the city’s sewer system would be charged at least an additional $470 on their annual property tax bill under a 40-year federal low-interest loan.

They could also opt to pay the entire estimated $8,641 cost at one time.

The meeting was supposed to help educate residents on the specific details of the new plant. But the presentation was cut short by residents more interested in the enormous costs than in how the facility would function.

Changes in 1999 to federal and state wastewater treatment requirements were designed to promote cleaner water standards. But many small towns have struggled to bring existing facilities up to those standards, resulting in severe fines.

Williams has been out of compliance with state permit requirements since December 2005, and the city has already been fined about $2.1 million, officials said.

State officials have agreed to essentially forgive the fines for now and allow the city to instead roll those funds into the cost of the project.

“I don’t want to have to vote for this, but I’m going to,” said Mayor Patricia Ash.

City officials said they have considered other options and share the community’s frustration.

Tinoco, a truck driver and city resident for seven years, said he would vote against the assessment.

City Manager Jim Manning said if the assessment fails, the city would be forced to find another way to finance the project. The price tag will stay the same and any other solution would spread the cost between fewer people and likely involve a much higher interest rate, he said.

There will be a special district public hearing at City Hall on Jan. 30 prior to ballot tabulation.

Contact Colusa County Sun-Herald reporter Robert Parsons at 458-2121 or rparsons@tcnpress.com