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State Grant Info: How much is the grant for? The total amount of the Proposition 84 Clean Beaches Initiative Grant for the South Coast Beach Communities Septic to Sewer Project is $2,156,750. Approximately $1,000,000 of that total is allocated to the Rincon Point portion of the project. The grant will be paid on a reimbursement basis. Payments are limited to 25% of the actual project implementation costs – if the project costs less than originally projected, the total grant disbursement will be reduced proportionately. How will it be allocated per home? Upon completion of the project and following receipt of all eligible grant funds, the money received for the Rincon Point project will be allocated equally among the 72 parcels that were assessed. Property owners that paid their assessment up front will receive a rebate in the form of a check. The remaining funds, allocated to property owners who elected the long term bond financing option, will be used to pay the annual assessments for those parcels for a period of time. For example, if the annual per parcel assessment is $6,000 and each parcel's allocation of grant proceeds is $18,000, property owners would see a zero assessment on their tax bill for a three year period.Has or will California's current budget crisis affect the grant? On December 18, 2008 the California Department of Finance suspended grant disbursements for State grants and loans due the current budget crisis in Sacramento. In the absence of a budget agreement to address the deficit condition, the State is unable to issue bonds and create sufficient liquidity to make grant disbursements. The District’s Proposition 84 CBI Grant is affected by this freeze. However, every indication is that this is a temporary situation and the grant itself is not in jeopardy. Because the septic to sewer project is fully funded by the homeowner assessments, its implementation is not threatened by this temporary freeze. We still expect to receive the full grant commitment authorized by the State Water Resources Control Board. Has the grant been secured? The District received the executed grant agreement from the State Water Resources Control Board in December 2008. If there is no grant, how much will it increase each homeowner’s costs? If the grant were to be terminated, there would be no additional out of pocket cost to property owners. The assessments already paid are intended to cover 100% of the project implementation costs. Loss of the grant funds would affect future rebates and reductions in annual assessments, however. |
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