HI-DESERT WATER LOOKS AT LOW-INTEREST LOANS TO HELP WITH SEWER COSTS

The Hi-Desert Water District board of directors gave direction to staff at its meeting last night to begin an analysis to determine the extent of the need for low-interest loans to help customers pay the sewer assessments. Managing editor Tami Roleff was at the meeting and files this report…
The Hi-Desert Water District’s board of directors acknowledged that a significant portion of its customers in Yucca Valley are low income and will need financial assistance in paying for the assessment for the sewer project. Directors decided to offer only low-interest loans, perhaps at 1 percent, as opposed to offering grants to customers, saying that when the loans are paid off, the money will come back to the water district to be loaned out again. To start, the water district will look into an annual allocation of $200,000 from its $1.3 million in property tax revenues for the low-interest loans. Property owners would need to apply for a low-interest loan for the annual assessment (roughly $600 per year) every year (because their financial circumstances may change from year to year). Liens for the loans would be placed on the owner’s property taxes, and the loan would be paid off when the home is sold.