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qathet Regional District’s (qRD) finance committee is recommending the regional board give first reading through final adoption of a temporary borrowing bylaw of $6.4 million for the resource recovery centre and transfer station.
At the October 4 finance committee meeting, directors voted unanimously for the recommendation without discussion.
According to a staff report by manager of financial services Linda Greenan, on April 26, the regional board gave first through third reading to the resource recovery centre and waste transfer station loan authorization bylaw 587. The bylaw was forwarded to the ministry of municipal affairs for approval by the inspector of municipalities. Approval for the borrowing was granted on June 23, and on July 26, the board adopted the bylaw for $6.4 million, the report stated.
The regional board is now going to consider resource recovery centre and waste transfer station temporary borrowing bylaw 592 for another $6.4 million.
The staff report stated that adoption of a temporary borrowing bylaw will allow staff to draw funds as needed, up to $6.4 million, to finance development of the resource recovery centre and transfer station. The report stated that funds drawn down under the temporary borrowing bylaw will be charged interest on a daily floating rate. The borrowing will be repaid when the financing is secured as a long-term debt.
The staff report stated that the borrowing and projected annual debt repayments are included in the 2023 to 2027 financial plan for the waste management service and the financial plan projected interest on the borrowing at six per cent. The report stated that the Municipal Finance Authority of BC (MFA) is currently charging a daily floating rate of 5.62 per cent on temporary / short-term borrowing.
“Adoption of the temporary borrowing bylaw will allow the qRD to borrow from the municipal finance authority to fund development of the resource recovery centre and transfer station until the debt is converted to a long-term debenture,” the staff report stated.
During question period at the finance committee meeting, Greenan said whenever the regional board passes a loan authorization bylaw, there are two things that happen. One of them is that the board passes a temporary borrowing bylaw, so that the regional district can borrow until it goes to debenture debt. She said the next step is for the board to pass a security issuing bylaw, which allows the board to go the MFA and ask for long-term borrowing.
“In the past, there were two loan authorization bylaws for the resource recovery centre and transfer station,” said Greenan. “One was for $5.5 million and we had the loan authorization bylaw for that. There was a temporary borrowing bylaw and a then a security issuing bylaw which is going to the MFA this October.
“This $6.4 million allows us to borrow temporarily on that authority. Probably in the spring, or maybe fall, we will ask the board to pass a security issuing bylaw so we can ask the MFA to turn that temporary borrowing into a long-term debenture. There’s always those three things that happen with a loan authorization bylaw.”
Greenan said this is the last loan authorization bylaw that the regional district has in place for the resource recovery centre and waste transfer station.
“We are still working through the project and right now we are on budget, but there still are a number of contracts that are being issued,” said Greenan.
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