PSA receives positive marks on annual report 

The Henry County Public Service Authority (PSA) has met all of its annual investment requirements stipulated by the 1991 Master Trust Agreement between the PSA and Crestar Bank. 

Kevin Heath, an engineering consultant from the Lane Group, certified during the PSA Board of Director’s June meeting that the PSA was in full compliance with the expectations of the original 1991 agreement which was entered into in conjunction with the issuance of bonds amounting to $47.9 million. 

A master trust agreement is a contract between two or more entities where each entity agrees to invest a certain amount of money into a fund that collectively manages pooled investments. 

Heath found that the PSA’s adopted budget for the fiscal year 2023 exceeded the prior year’s direct operating expenses by 5.7 percent. Additionally, the PSA exceeded the minimum replacement reserve fund by nearly $200,000. 

The PSA has not had a water or sewer rate increase since 2013. Production volumes have remained relatively stable over the last five years. Even so, it is expected that revenues will outpace expenses in the current fiscal year by $488,181. 

According to the master trust agreement, the PSA must maintain a debt service ratio in excess of 1.2. The current debt service ratio of the PSA is 1.695. The PSA is also required to maintain two months of direct operating expenses in its reserves. That amount would equate to $1.59 million. An operating reserve fund established by the PSA in 2004 currently sits at $1.69 million which covers the two-month requirement. 

In other matters, the board: 

• Approved the write-off of uncollectible utility billing accounts for 2022 estimated at approximately $42,800. 
• Received monthly reports on finance, construction, engineering, safety, and treatment, and regulatory compliance.