As the West Virginia Public Service Commission ponder the need for an increase in the public water rates for the Town of Grantsville, there is plenty of pondering to do on the home front. The Town has requested a 60% increase to an already financially strangled community with greater than 1/3 of the city population being over 60 years of age. That rate increase is projected to increase City revenue by $300,000 annually.
At the November Calhoun County Commission meeting, Commissioner Kevin Helmick suggested that the County pay off the Bonds which totaled $317,471.21 for all three water companies, The Town of Grantsville, Mt. Zion PSD and the Pleasant Hill PSD. The greater share belonging to the Town of Grantsville. This is in addition to the $96,770.60 for which the Town of Grantsville have received in County funding for two separate bailouts in 2024. The monthly bond payments for the Town of Grantsville are over $11,000 monthly, which causes a shortage, according to Mayor Robert Petrovsky, of around $5,000 month in the Town being able to meet their monthly expenditures. The County Commission agreed to pay the next two months of bond payments for the all entities for November and December which should allow for $10,000 additional funding availability in the City Coffers.
Should the County pay off the bonds, which appears to be what will be happening, the Town of Grantsville should be able to meet their monthly expenditures without issue and without the 60% increase. Whether or not the WVPSC will be taking this into consideration is not known.
My concern is the spending of funding at such a rapid speed without any consideration for what the future hold for Calhoun, or how we should be investing the windfall known as the Compressor Station. Just how far did the $1.2 million in ARPA Funding stretch with interest and all? I make no bones about being a mathematician. My grandchildren will attest to that fact when they ask for help. But in looking at previous Ridgeview News stories, and recent information that came to light, this is how I see our condition.
Below is an elementary excel spread sheet that I used to determine what I think is happening in the County coffers. In September of 2023, the ARPA Fund account had $1,296,113.86 in it. Following that date the county gave Minnie Hamilton $200,000 from that fund leaving less than $1.2 million, but we committed the $1.2 million anyway. Adding to that issue, the amount of the consolidation was $185,889.00 that they agreed to pay out of the County General fund. Since the beginning of 2024 the County has given $96,770.60 to help bail the city out of debt and buy a piece of equipment. Just this month they agreed to pay the November and December bond payments from all three water companies which would be $24,000 for Grantsville alone. I do not have the totals for Mt. Zion and Pleasant Hill. After the first of the year, they want to pay the entire bond amount of over $300,000 to help the consolidation of the water companies move forward faster. Which may be wise. But my question as a citizens watching people play a very unmonitored game of Monopoly is can we as a county afford the previous and future investments that will have us all in at $728,017.94 more or less.
As I stated, I make no profession to understand the logistics of the finances of Calhoun County. I only know what information is given to me and report it accordingly in truth. If someone has better figures for me to help me understand, I’ll gladly report it. But until then… we need to pay close attention at where our county funds are going.
