08-17-16 Personnel and Finance - Laserfiche WebLink

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Committee Chair White asked if Public Works could return on August 29" to address Council questions and concerns. Mr. Horvath said they were coming back on August 22"d for a Smart Streets discussion during Council Committee and maybe it'd be possible to add questions during that time. Committee Chair White responded that the Council doesn't schedule additional meetings to the regular meeting schedule since they are already lengthy. Mr. Horvath continued on to discuss the Utilities Division inclusive of Waterworks and Wastewater. Some accomplishments include: improvements to aging water mains, fire hydrant installations, and additional infrastructure improvements. On the drinking water side, the City has an aquifer and water quality, but we have a problem with deferred maintenance on the utility side. As a result, the department is requesting a significant water rate increase. The billing office is responsible for solid waste billing, sewage and water, so $55 million in revenue is billed through the billing office. A couple projects the division is responsible for is pipe installation at Chet Wagoner and Ignition Park. Fund (620) has gone up on the revenue side and expenses have decreased slightly but is relatively consistent with 2016. The revenue side increase reflects a forty - five percent (45 %) rate increase for a July 1, 2017 start. The current average water user pays $8 -$11 per month. The problem is that what is considered in the water bill reflects Sewer charges and Project Releaf among other charges, but users should only expect to pay approximately $16 per month on average in water fees. Committee Chair White asked if Public Works is asking for the entire increase at once. Mr. Horvath explained that Public Works has to go through the IRUC for every proposed increase, so they'll incur costs and legal fees to get through the process. They're opting to request the increase once as opposed to several times to avoid incurring costly fees several times. Mr. Horvath cites declining fund balances, and aging facilities and infrastructure as the main reasons for requesting the increase. He argued, we won't be able to defer the maintenance on these priorities any further. He welcomes the Council to schedule tours of the facilities and infrastructure to note the current condition. There's a separate Depreciation Fund in Waterworks which is a capital fund where he's budgeting a couple million dollars. The fund was underfunded in the past which has led to the current condition of our facilities and infrastructure. The total expenses include a $999,200 capital fund among other high ticket items. Mr. Horvath expressed that one of our well fields (Erskine) is underutilized and other ones are down because it has nitrates in it. The department would like to decommission the South Well Field but is not comfortable doing so without adding some piping to maintain the water pressure. This project is also included as a part of that capital expense fund. 0