Meeting in special session Thursday afternoon, Pulaski County Sewer District board members voted to retain legal counsel and hire a financial advisor for a bond election they’ve agreed to place on this year’s August primary election ballot.
The bond will have to be approved by voters in Cullen Township, which consists of the central part of Pulaski County including the unincorporated areas around but not including the cities of Waynesville and St. Robert, and stretching east to Devil’s Elbow. Sewer board members say the bond won’t impose a tax on voters and isn’t intended to increase rates for sewer district customers; on the contrary, it should keep rates from increasing more than would otherwise be necessary to pay for major sewer upgrades.
Improving public perception of the sewer district was a key factor in the sewer board’s selection of legal counsel and financial representatives. The sewer district has traditionally worked with the Gilmore-Bell law firm of Kansas City, but selected Carson Eliff of the Springfield law firm Yates, Mauck, Bohrer, Elliff and Fels. Board members said the Gilmore-Bell law firm does good work but warned that its personnel “have a reputation for not leaving their office.”
“I have worked with both bond counsels, and they are both good firms,” Sewer District Engineer Terris Cates.
Board chairman Charles Bassett said even though both companies do good work, a change is important.
“I don’t have a problem with Gilmore-Bell, but they are lacking the personal touch, and that is what we need,” Bassett said. “If we had a person who was able to answer their questions at a moment, the majority might be a lot more comfortable.”
Bassett said the Sewer District’s leaders must walk a fine line between marketing and campaigning for the bond, which they’re not allowed to do legally, and educating the public, which is a necessary part of the government agency’s functions. Bassett said board members need sound advice to make that distinction clear.
Board members also hired Jack Dillingham of the Piper Jaffrey company as financial advisor for the bond proposal.