Funding Applications
“Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” –William Goldman, The Princess Bride
If a community has completed and followed a Capital Improvements Program, then there should be money in the bank to complete major replacements and improvements.
If your community is without the resources available to complete an immanent project, then we can assist you with various funding options.
Low Interest Government Loans
These programs fill a special need for some systems; however, they also come with a significant expense. If you need to apply for a government loan or grant program, plan on investing several thousand dollars, and/or a couple hundred hours. We are able to put together the majority of the application and supporting materials (environmental report, etc) in-house, saving you thousands of dollars. We are happy to work with you to share the workload and pass the further savings on to you.
Do It Yourself When Possible:
Planning and saving is always the most cost effective option
Options for private financing
- Assessment
- Financing from within community
- Capital Improvements surcharges
- Pay-as-you-go
Making “Do It Yourself” possible :
Develop Capital Improvements Plan
- RCAC or Consultant
- Community Volunteers
Discuss and explain rates as a community
Water system should be viewed as property asset, not liability.
What to do When DIY is not Possible: Find funding: SDA, SRF, CDBG. Grants are scarce, expect loans.
Tips for Success:
- Determine principal contacts for each agency
- Be vigorous about follow-ups; your funding agency contacts are very helpful and have a lot of things to manage. Make sure your project is one of those things.
- Rules and priorities change, keep an eye out:
- Davis Bacon Wages
- Distressed Community Definitions
- Get everything in writing, verify periodically
- Coordinating agencies can be very challenging
- Some funding agencies have conflicting requirements
- Get order of operations and timeline and stay on top of it.
- Agency website addresses change, Google is your friend
- Federal, State and county agencies can have different lists for the same criteria. Verify lists and contacts with the funding agency contact.
- Environmental Reports require many contacts, call ahead and ask questions before sending the letter. Make sure you are writing to the authoritative agency.
- Watch for “chicken and egg” scenarios.
- NEPA requires CZM, which requires SEPA, which requires NEPA.
- The principal agency contact may be new to the process, the people and process is dynamic.
- There is no “free lunch”. You are likely to spend time and money on professional consultation before funding is disbursed.
- Be sure decisions are made as a community. These are obligations that affect everyone.
- Be sure your community can afford the expected obligation. The funding agency will consider that as part of the process.