Franklin
Hearing to be held on sewer loan/grant application
The loan/grant is in addition to the $570,000 initially estimated for the project in 2004. At that time, the department was awarded a $182,700 federal grant in conjunction with a $223,000 low-interest loan to replace sewer lines between Bridge Street and the Jay line on Main Street, also known as Route 4.
That money has been on hold until the Maine Department of Transportation reconstructs a 1.1 mile section of Route 4 from Bridge Street to Pineau Street in Jay.
The $179,000 to be discussed during the hearing on July 6 at 6:30 p.m. is how much the cost of the project has increased since 2004.
The breakdown on the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development funding system would be 70 percent loan and 30 percent grant, Livermore Falls Town Manager Jim Chaousis said. However, the town is eligible to receive up to a 45 percent grant, he said.
If a state bond passes in November, the state is expected to do the project.
Jay Sewer Department and the Livermore Falls Water District also plan to replace sewer and water lines during the state work.
Jay Sewer Department's Mark Holt estimated earlier this year that the cost for their portion would be about $667,000, which was about $200,000 more than the estimated cost five years ago.
Jay's sewer rates are not high enough for the town to receive a grant for the project, Holt had previously said.
The Livermore Falls Water District's portion of the upgrade encompasses the entire length of the project in both towns. The district plans to replace water mains among other work estimated at $1.7 million, District Superintendent Doug Burdo said previously. That was up from the original estimate of $840,000.
A regular selectmen's meeting will follow the hearing on Monday.
dperry@sunjournal.com
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Most Popular Today
verified on "P. Nachman: Confidence probably misplaced"
I agree with your $60 billion
That is the size of the problem. $60 billion out of about $551 billion in expenditures about 11%.
Let's understand what Medicare Fraud and Asbuse is. Medicare Fraud and Abuse is any billinging to Medicare that covers services not delivered or a service that was delivered but was unnecessary or inappropriate (given to someone not qualified for the service.
The mismatch of qualified people to services is low, technical, and almost always caught after the fact by computers. Its the error rate of medicare and will never be zero but also may reach the point where its not worth pursuing if the costs to pursue are high.
The major medicare fraud is provider mis-billing that is separated between deliberate fraud and provider billing errors. Our Speaker of the House can speak to this since he misbilled Medicare by $1.6 million. He claims it was an error (billing for one class of product when really a different class was provided). Most of the provider errors are caught in the billing process. What remains is deliberate fraud.
For the first time and about time, the Obama administration has elevated Medicare Fraud and Abuse to a cabinet position. The HEAT team of cabinet officers was established in 2009 to specifically address and presecute deliberate fraud. Its done some good but not enough.
But Medicare Fraud and Abuse is about errors in the billing process. The $60 billion does not refer to expenditures. It refers to billing errors. In 2010 "improper payments" were about $48 billion of which an unknown amount were later found to be correct and proper.
Columbia Healthcare paid about a billion dollars in fines and penalties a few years back for deliberate fraud.
ut medicare was set up for fast and easy payments to providers not for verification. As time has gone on the system is being changed to put more and more emphasis on proper payments. So its not like little is being done. Just that much more needs to be done.
The fundamental point tho' is that patients are almost never involved in fraud.
- Agree Agree (1)
- Disagree Disagree (1)
verified on "P. Nachman: Confidence probably misplaced"
Correction - that is $60
Correction - that is $60 Billion per year!!!
verified on "Local schools stand to get more state money for education"
I agree these teachers exist.
I agree these teachers exist. I have had them and I have worked with them. I am the first person to support drastic changes to tenure policies so it is easier to replace these teachers. But you are wrong that they are the norm. They are still very much the exception, especially in Lewiston. And Carl- it is so much more complicated than simply holding students back. I would suggest you do more reading on the challenges of ESL students and a large immigrant population because it isn't a simple situation by any means.
In order to make comments, you must verify your account.
In order to comment on SunJournal.com, you must use your real name and include the town in which you live in your profile. A member of our staff will call you to verify this information. To join in, fill out your user profile completely and check the box "please verify my status." We'll get back to you within one business day to verify your account.
Login or create an account here.
Our policy prohibits comments that are:
- Defamatory, abusive, obscene, racist, or otherwise hateful
- Excessively foul and/or vulgar
- Inappropriately sexual
- Baseless personal attacks or otherwise threatening
- Contain illegal material, or material that infringes on the rights of others
- Commercial postings attempting to sell a product/item
If you violate this policy, your comment will be removed and your account may be banned.