RISON - Mayor Charles Roberts told the Rison City Council Tuesday night that the low-to-moderate income (LMI) survey of city residents is underway, but progress has been slow so far.
Meanwhile, Roberts also informed the city council member that each of them need to have wastewater training as the state will soon be doing rate studies on the public wastewater system much like it did with public water systems under Act 605.
Roberts announced in July that volunteers would be launching a LMI survey to get an accurate percentage of how many residents qualify as LMI. The survey was set to launch around the start of the school year in mid-August and is now underway.
LMI is an important factor for communities seeking grants. Cities or other jurisdictions with 51 percent or more of its residents classified as LMI are eligible for a much wider pool of grants than those that are under that percentage.
The standard for determining whether a household qualifies as LMI is based on the Average Median Income (AMI) for that area, according to Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Typically, it is 80 percent of AMI or lower depending on the number of people in the household.
Before the 2020 census, Rison had an LMI percentage that exceeded the 51 percent threshold. However, the percentage fell to 47.9 percent in the last census, which took Rison out of the running for most grants.
Roberts has contended that the percentage is not below 51 percent, but to prove that, the city must conduct its own survey. The Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District is assisting with the survey.
Volunteers will be going door-to-door to get some general information about each household. Roberts said no one will be asking for personal income but rather where the household fits within a range of income.
Wastewater Training
The mayor also informed the council that each of them will have to undergo wastewater training since the state is expected to begin doing rate studies for each public sewer sys…