In a single stroke last week, the Oxford Township Board saved sewer customers $70,871.
Officials voted 7-0 to prepay the township’s share of the cost for repairs and improvements to the Oakland-Macomb Interceptor (OMI) Drain rather than make 20 years worth of debt service payments on an estimated $8 million bond issue.
The prepay amount is $193,472.
The township is able to cover its portion of the assessment upfront because its sewer fund has approximately $3.2 million in available reserves.
Had the township decided to not prepay and instead incur the debt, its sewer customers would have been responsible for the $193,472, plus an additional $70,871 in interest between 2015 and 2034.
‘We can save quite a bit of money here,? said Clerk Curtis Wright.
Oxford’s sewage flows through the OMI Drain on its way to Detroit for treatment.
Two more bond issues, each amounting to $10 million, are expected to help pay for the OMI Drain project.
It’s anticipated those bonds will be sold in December.
With both of those bonds, the township will, again, have the option to either prepay its entire assessment or make debt service payments.
‘We could save not only $70,000 this time, but probably $300,000 to $400,000 (by prepaying the other two drain assessments as well),? said Supervisor Bill Dunn. ‘Hopefully, the boards of the future will thank us for prepaying these.?