As part of the Village of Middleburgh’s $5.6 million project to rebuild its sewer facility, the Village was able to secure approximately $3 million in state and federal funding to offset the cost to our residents; the remaining $2.6 million, however, had to be federally bonded to make up the difference.
When interest was factored in over thirty-seven years, that $2.6 million bond became $3.8 million.
Over the past two years, Clerk Laraway and Mayor Knight have been working diligently with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) to refinance that $2.6 million federal bond into a state bond with zero percent interest.
Earlier this week, the Village formally signed paperwork to close out this zero percent interest deal.
This has three immediate consequences for Village residents:
- $1.2 million in interest payments have been completely eliminated, which roughly equals to $5,000 saved per household connected to the sewer system over the next thirty years.
- The length of the debt service was reduced from thirty-seven years to thirty years, which accurately aligns with the expected life of the upgraded sewer infrastructure than before.
- Instead of sewer rates increasing substantially to $217.51 per quarter next year for our customers, they will actually decrease slightly come February 2026 to $191.80 per quarter.
“I am incredibly proud of this accomplishment,” stated Mayor Knight. He continued, “There are many thanks to go around, including to our friends at USDA and EFC, our Village Board for supporting this effort, our Bond Attorneys at Hodgson Russ, our Village Attorney Fred Mauhs, and our Village Clerk Melanie Laraway.”
