OAR 340-081-0110: Assessment Deferral Loan Program Revolving Fund

Purpose. The Department will establish and administer an Assessment Deferral Loan Program Revolving Fund for the purpose of providing assistance to property owners who will experience extreme financial hardship from payment of sewer assessments. Assessment deferrals will be made available to qualifying property owners from approved assessment deferral loan program administered by public agencies: (1) Loans from the Assessment Deferral Loan Program Revolving Fund may be made to provide funds for assessment deferral loan programs administered by public agencies that meet all of the following conditions: (a) The public agency is required by federal grant agreement or by an order issued by the Commission or the Oregon Health Division to construct a sewage collection system, and sewer assessments or charges in lieu of assessments levied against some benefitted properties will subject property owners to extreme financial hardship; (b) The public agency has adopted an assessment deferral loan program and the Commission has approved the program; and (c) The sewage collection system meets the requirement of Section 2 Article XI-H of the Oregon Constitution regarding eligibility of pollution control bond funds. (2) Any public agency requesting funding for its assessment deferral loan program from the Assessment Deferral Loan Program Revolving Fund shall submit a proposed program and application to the Department on a form provided by the Department. Applications for loans and the proposed program shall be submitted by the following dates: (a) By no later then February 1, 1988 for loans to be issued in the 1987–89 biennium; (b) The subsequent bienniums, by no later than February 1 of odd numbered years preceding the biennium. (3) Any public agency administering funds from the Assessment Deferral Loan Program Revolving Fund shall have an assessment deferral loan program approved by the Department: (a) The proposed program submitted to the Department shall contain the following: (A) The number of sewer connections to be made as required by grant agreement or state order; (B) An analysis of the income level and cost of sewer assessments for affected property owners; (C) A description of how the public agency intends to allocate loan funds among potentially eligible property owners, including the following: (i) Eligibility criteria; (ii) Basis of choosing the eligibility criteria; (iii) How funds will be distributed for assessment deferrals, among eligible property owners. (D) A schedule for construction or collector sewers; (E) A description of how the public agency intends to administer the assessment deferral program, including placing liens on property, repayment procedures, and accounting and record keeping procedures; (F) Assurance that the public was afforded adequate opportunity for comment on the proposed program, and that public comments were considered prior to adoption of the proposed program by the public agency; and (G) A resolution that the public agency has adopted the program. (b) The Department shall review proposed programs submitted by public agencies within 30 days of receipt. The Department shall use the following criteria in reviewing submitted programs: (A) The degree to which the public agency and its proposed program will meet the intent of the Assessment Deferral Loan Program Revolving Fund as specified in subsection (1)(a) of this rule; and (B) Whether the required sewers will be constructed and made available to affected property owners within the biennium for which funds are being requested. (c) The Department shall submit to the Commission recommendations for approval or disapproval of all submitted applications and proposed assessment deferral loan programs. (4) All public agencies meeting the requirements of section (1) of this rule shall receive an allocation of up to the amount of funds available based on the following criteria: (a) The number of sewer connections to be made, as described in the approved program; (b) The percentage of households within the area described in the program that are at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level as published by the U.S. Bureau of Census; (c) The allocation of available funds for qualifying public agencies shall be determined as follows: (A) Calculate the number of connections to low income households for each public agency: (total number of sewer connections) x (% of households in project area where household income in project area is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level) = number of connections to low income households (B) Add the total number of connections to low income households for all qualifying public agencies; (C) Calculate a percentage of the total sewer connections to low income households for each qualifying agency divide paragraph (A) of this subsection by paragraph (B) of this subsection; (D) Multiply the percentage calculated in paragraph (C) of this subsection by the total funds available. (5) Within 60 days of Commission approval of the application and allocation of loan funds, the Department shall offer the public agency funds from the Assessment Deferral Loan Program Revolving Fund through a loan agreement that includes terms and conditions that: (a) Require the public agency to secure the loan with assessment deferral loan program financing liens; (b) Require the public agency to maintain adequate records and follow accepted accounting procedure; (c) Contain a repayment program and schedule for the loan principal and simple annual interest. The interest rate shall be 5%; (d) Require an annual status report from the public agency on the assessment deferral loan program; (e) Conform with the terms and conditions listed in OAR 340-081-0046; (f) Other conditions as deemed appropriate by the Commission.