Councilwoman Jessica Marino has suggested the city participate in the RI Community Septic System Loan Program (CSSLP) and the RI Sewer Tie-In Loan Program (STILF). Both are run through the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank and provide sewer and septic loans for low-income households.

“It’s before us as finance to have some discussion as to whether or not this is something viable to us in a financial way,” said Councilwoman Marino said at the finance committee on Monday,.

According to the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank’s website, STILF, works as “a lending program that provides low-cost loans to homeowners to connect to the local sewer system and abandon their individual septic system or cesspool.” Rhode Island currently has six participating communities including Warwick, Coventry, East Providence, New Shoreham, North Smithfield and Tiverton.

Under the program, residents can borrow up to $10,000 with a maximum loan term of five years. Financing is interest-free and borrowers pay a $300 loan origination fee with a one percent annual servicing fee on the loan balance.

Meanwhile, according to Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank’s website, CSSLP “provides low-cost, long-term financing to residential property owners for the repair or replacement of substandard or failing septic systems or to replace cesspools when the homeowner wishes to upgrade to a septic system.” Sixteen Rhode Island communities participate in this program.

In CSSLP, residents can borrow up to $25,000 with a maximum loan term of ten years. The origination fee and annual servicing fee is the same as STILF, and the funds can be used to pay for engineering costs and construction work.

“In order to proceed, the City of Cranston would need to be approved to have an onsite wastewater management plan,” said Chief of Staff Anthony Moretti, who received this information from Director of Public Works Ken Mason.

Rhode Island Housing is responsible for underwriting and servicing loans made through the CSSLP and STILF programs, but in order for residents to access funds through these programs, Cranston must be placed on DEM’s project priority list and receive a certificate of approval that allows them to pursue this project. After that, Cranston could go to the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank and apply for a lending facility and the process can be used to make direct loans to homeowners.

“In concept, I believe it would be supported by the administration,” Moretti said.

According to Moretti, Mason indicated that the process of applying and getting approved could take six months or so.

Moretti mentioned that a more logistical issue is the fact that the finance and public works departments will soon be short staffed at the top of those departments and it may be best to proceed with the DEM application process when the new staff members take over and can have their input as well. If Cranston decides to move forward with this, applying and working with DEM would fall primarily on DPW while the administration of the program would fall on finance.

While the finance committee talked about filing the DEM application sooner than later, the conversation on this matter will continue at next month’s finance meeting at 7 p.m. on March 7.