McCall Idaho Headline News

The number of years McCall sewer customers would spend paying off the J-Ditch lawsuit has risen from 20 years to 30 years.

The new calculation was revealed last Thursday during a town hall meeting on the J-Ditch lawsuit.

McCall sewer ratepayers could see an increase of more than $11 in their monthly sewer bills for the next 30 years in order to pay the remaining balance, City Manager Lindley Kirkpatrick said.

Kirkpatrick said the city's plan to use revenue bonds to pay off the remaining balance of about $6 million in the J-Ditch lawsuit would increase the monthly sewer rate by as much as $11.43 for 30 years.

A rate study made the determination that 10 more years would be needed to pay off revenues bonds that would be sold to pay off the city's legal obligations, he said.

The city previously said that 20 years would be needed to pay off the revenue bonds.

On Wednesday, Fourth District Judge Thomas Neville heard the city's petition to seek revenue bonds in court in Cascade.

The city will need Neville's permission to issue the bonds under a state law that limits the ability of cities to go into debt without voter approval.