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stead of crisis management.
The mayor was quick to add that the water system is not the only reason that the council is pursuing some method of raising revenue for the town. “It is not specifically directed to raise water revenue - there are other items as well: sidewalks, street signs and lights, renovation of the town hall; a number of things need to be done.”
Water, however, is certainly the most pressing issue, the mayor said, adding that if the present situation continues, “the town will run out of money in two or three months. Maybe then we could pass the hat,” he suggested.
He said that the water authority faces several alternatives: (1) abandoning the system; (2) selling the authority, and the water, to a private firm which would then manage the system as the municipal authority does now; (3) raising rates to help pay for a mjyor renovation of the system; or, (4) enacting a revenue measure which would create a tax base which could be used to generate funds to overhaul the antiquated system.
Mr. Morehouse said that abandoning the system in favor of private wells is not feasible because of the close proximity of septic systems on town lots.
At the present time, he estimated, the authority is paying “$25,000 to $30,000 a year for patchwork repairs. * JL and we never know if the funds will be available to make the repairs.”
The thought of the council in proposing a restaurant andtran-; ' sient lodging tax, the mayor continued, is that it would establish a tax base which the town could use as a “credit enhancement” in applying to a lender for seed money or a bond issue.
“We have looked at the possibility of a number of financing vehicles,” he said, “and they all come back to the credit problem. Neither the town nor the water authority has a revenue base.”
Comments from those attending the hearing covered a range of questions about and objections to the proposal.
Dr. Werner Krebser remarked that “I realize that you have to raise funds, but I’m amazed that the money will go elsewhere (than the water sys(Continued
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