The GLUA Funding Failure Facts

The Gerrish Lyon Utility Authority has been trying to get low-interest loans (or debt-free grants), to fund their Higgins Lake Step Sewer project, for over 3 years.

Result? A complete washout!

Here is both a current update (as of December 2023) and a summary of GLUA’s actions and failures over the last three years. These are the facts as we have found them, and I will note opinions when applicable. Any errors in unwinding the mess that is the “GLUA” funding failure are not intended.

It is important to understand the funding failure because GLUA is now attempting to start the sewer Special Assessment Districts residents’ “tax” as a last resort!! The SAD residents’ “tax” will allow GLUA to stay afloat by borrowing against its value.

If loans are obtained the loan collateral will be the liens on all SAD residents’ homes. Are you ok with that?? Didn’t think so….

Let’s start with the fact that GLUA has repeatedly promised (and still is) “Significant funding would be coming!”

At the GLUA High School presentation, it was stated the project “might even be free!!!!!!!”. Not quite, eh?

GLUA also promised they would not move forward with the STEP sewer project unless significant funding was obtained and MANY sewer support petitions were signed over the last two years based on those now unkept promises.

Read on, there is no significant funding coming, NONE! GLUA will now start to collect YOUR SAD resident money to save their ass and personal STEP sewer agenda.

Whatever GLUA or its supporters say or will say, there are only two sources of significant low-interest loan funding available for GLUA to pursue.

One is the MI EGLE Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF), with over one billion in allocations distributed in each of the last two fiscal years – mostly low-interest loans with 40-year payback plans.

The second source of low-income financing is the MI United States Department of Agriculture – Rural Development (USDA-RD), with approximately $35 million in allocations distributed in each of the last two years. Again, mostly low-interest loans.

The CWSRF approximately 1 billion-dollar budget for both 2022 and 2023, had $600 million for sewer and $400 million for drinking water available to allocate.

To receive funding, all CWSRF project applications have to be reviewed, merit-scored, and listed in a priority ranking. Only then can they be considered for funding allocations. Many projects are submitted, and many receive no funding at all based on their lack of merit for high-priority ranking.

In 2022 GLUA’s 115-million-dollar STEP sewer project application merit scored so low they were near the bottom of the priority ranking DRAFT list. GLUA withdrew the application rather than suffer the indignant result of the FINAL priority ranking list for funding allocation showing them well out of funding possibility range! GLUA’s application withdrawal claim was “because permitting was not complete”, they could not have gotten funds assigned to them to move forward to allocation.

You will see that is not true, nor the whole story.

The project was pulled by GLUA to hide the low merit score and resulting low priority ranking DRAFT position from us in hopes that the 2023 upcoming changes in merit ranking criteria would favor the GLUA with a higher merit ranking.

Ultimately, CWSRF allocated all their 2022 budget money to about 45 of the approximately 75 applicant projects ranked for 2022. GLUA DRAFT position, based on merit, was 64th if memory serves.

The GLUA 2023 merit ranking score DRAFT, released early last summer, was even worse than 2022!! GLUA’s priority ranking position for potential funding was not only near the bottom again, it was next to last.

GLUA’s project was in a group of other applicants with the same score of 20 out of 100 possible points, with only one application scoring lower, a ZERO !!……..all out of 150 application projects!!

In the FINAL ranking released in October, GLUA remained second to last, and DID NOT APPEAL the FINAL merit ranking position score. The importance of GLUA not appealing will become clear as you read on.

My informed opinion is that the new MI legislature installed in 2020 recognized the misguided allocation of huge tax money amounts to affluent areas of low population…. and put a stop to it with the new merit score criteria! Someone must have made them aware!

GLUA had a snowball’s chance in hell of getting funding in 2022 because of no scientific merit or proof of need! GLUA had no chance at all of getting funding in 2023 because of those same facts AND tax money funding allocation criteria now prioritizes high-population areas with the highest proven need and lowest income.

The sewer infrastructure money goes where it is both proven to have a scientific need and is serving the higher populations of lower average family income.

Flowery, no proven need, funding applications like GLUA’s – asking for approximately 1/5 of the entire CWSRF sewer infrastructure budget for 7000 affluent citizens in a tourist area – will no longer be funded in this day and age.

GLUA started in the carryover policies of Governor Snyder. Those days of rich money grabbing schemes, presented in flimsy environmental crisis wrappings, rubber-stamped by CWSRF, are now officially over.

In GLUA’s desperation to keep from going under, they are now attempting to mislead, and convince, all of us that CWSRF money allocation is still going to happen! But remember, GLUA did not appeal the 2023 dismal merit ranking, because they KNOW it will not change.

It is all a ruse to make us think 2024 funding will come, there is no need for us to worry about SAD residents being “taxed” right now!

BUT THEY ARE USING LIENS ON OUR SEWER SAD HOMES FOR “TAX” COLLATERAL TO BORROW AGAINST because they cannot merit qualify for funding as originally promised!! And they want you to be ok with that.

GLUA has resubmitted the exact same STEP sewer application to be considered again by CWSRF in 2024. It hasn’t got a chance, but they need you to believe it will so they can start scooping up SAD residents “TAX” money for their misguided personal agendas related to this STEP sewer pipe dream.

The reality “cherry on top”, that GLUA is just not telling you, is that the CWSRF total budget will be cut in half for 2024 allocations. It will no longer have the Covid-driven American Rescue Plan 50% matching monies added.

If GLUA could not prove funding needs out of $600 million a year for two years, what do you think their chances are out of $300 million next year??

Or the following??? This is the email 2023 funding allocation truth from the EGLE CWSRF Senior Project Manager. Please note:  the 2024 merit ranking criteria will be no different!