IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Spring 2020

BRENTWOOD’S SANITARY SEWER SALE: WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT As of February 14th, 2020, the Borough of Brentwood is currently exploring potential options to sell its sanitary sewer system. Due to rising sewage costs associated with unfunded EPA mandates, anticipated multimillion dollar capital improvement costs, rising operations and maintenance costs, and increasing collections and administrative demands, the Borough of Brentwood is exploring the option of privatizing its sanitary sewer system, which would mean selling it off and transferring responsibility of sewer maintenance to an interested third party. This would eliminate the current and future liability associated with this system. In addition, the estimated $10 million to $30 million sell price would be revenue the Borough would invest to offset any future tax increases, sewer rate increases, and/or current debt service. This would also serve to complete some final capital projects with the additional revenue, which would top off the Borough wide renovations that have been taking place over the past 10 years. Although the Borough is working with PFM Financial Advisors LLC to explore its options at present, the Borough has the power to stop or amend the process of exploration and the sale of the sewer system until the final official approval is made by Brentwood’s council. Keeping this in mind, the Borough will only proceed with the sale of the sewer system if it is in the best interests of its citizens. To keep the citizens and the Borough’s mayor and council updated on the current process, below is a list of the recently completed events regarding the Borough’s exploratory process and a tentative timeline as to how the exploration of the Borough’s options could proceed. Recently Completed Events • In November of 2019, PFM analyzed the Borough’s sewer system and developed a range of potential values that it could be worth if sold in the current market. • PFM also analyzed what effect a sale could have on sewer rates going forward. Initial due diligence shows that because of where the Borough’s rates are currently, it sits in a very advantageous position and may be well positioned to not have dramatic rate increases if the system is in fact sold. This due diligence will continue as the process evolves. • In late 2019, PFM worked with the Borough to hire special legal counsel (Obermayer) to help guide the Borough through legal issues during its exploration. • On January 22, 2020, PFM (on behalf of the Borough) sent out a Request for Qualifications to numerous parties that may potentially be interested in acquiring the system. Responses were received from 3 prospective acquirers on February 12, 2020. The Borough is currently vetting each respondent to ensure that they have the technical, financial, and customer service qualifications to acquire the system. Timeframe Event(s) February 14th to March 30th, 2020 Further Due Diligence on the Potential Transaction March 31st, 2020 Hold Meetings with Pre-Qualified Respondents April to June 2020 Drafting and Negotiation of Legal Documents June 2020 Borough Releases Requests for Bids July 2020 Borough Receives Bids July to August 2020 Hold Public Information Sessions August 2020 Borough Council Considers Sale of Sewer System August 2020 – day to be determined Hold Closing Process (if applicable) to finalize transaction Brentwood Borough will keep you informed of this process through the IN Community Magazine, South Hills Record, the official Brentwood Borough Web Site, and of course at the monthly Council meeting held the 3rd and 4th Monday of every month at 7:30 PM. Any residents of Brentwood seeking more information and any interested parties with questions or concerns are more than welcome to contact the Borough Manager, George Zboyovsky, P.E., at 412-884-1500 ext. 110. The 2020 US Census and You Every ten years, the federal government does an official count, or census, of the population living in the United States, the District of Columbia, and US territories. The census is an extremely important part of determining large-scale federal decisions, such as how many seats a state will have in the US House of Representatives and how to allocate billions of dollars of federal funding. On a smaller scale, the census provides essential data for people like teachers and business owners to provide support and services for their communities. But how can the government count the people of a country like the United States, with a population numbering in the hundreds of millions? To acquire this data, the federal government is actively recruiting census takers to perform the essential work of census data collection. These census takers earn competitive wages and have a unique chance to shape the future of their communities. If you would be interested in signing up to be a census taker, please go to 2020census.gov and apply today! On April 1st, 2020, every household in the 50 BRENTWOOD-BALDWIN-WHITEHALL United States, the District of Columbia, and the US territories will receive a letter requesting participation in the census. Answers to the census can be submitted through the mail, by answering a quick phone call, or by filling out the federal government’s online census form. The Borough of Brentwood encourages you to participate in the 2020 census! Not only is it required by law, your input will help to shape Brentwood’s community funding and demonstrate how our community has grown over the past ten years! Under Title 13 of the US Code, your answers are completely confidential and no identifiable personal information can be released: no data that you put on the census can be used against you by law enforcement, court systems, or government agencies. To learn more, please go to 2020census.gov and find out more about how you can respond, why your answers matter, and how to avoid census scams. So this April 1st, remember it’s not April Fools: it’s Census Day!

IN Brentwood-Baldwin-Whitehall Spring 2020 | Page 52