To pay for a new Wichita water supply, the city gives voters two choices. Either (a) vote for a sales tax, or (b) the city will issue long-term debt and the city will have to pay an additional $221 million in interest expense.
Are there alternatives, such as raising the funds through water bills over the same five-year period as the proposed sales tax? Would this let commercial and industrial water users participate in the costs of a new water supply?
In this excerpt from a water town hall meeting, Wichita Director of Public Works Alan King responds. View below, or click here to view at YouTube.