Translate[Archived] Question #16: Can you please provide the revenue estimates for 50%, 75% and 100% increases in the sanitary sewer fee as well as potential expenditure changes if increased FY 2018 revenue?
Question:
The proposed budget includes a 30% increase in the Sanitary Sewer Rate pursuant to Council direction in the approved Sanitary Sewer Master Plan and in response to recent General Assembly actions. Can you please provide the revenue estimates for 50%, 75% and 100% increases in the sanitary sewer fee as well as potential expenditure changes if increased FY 2018 revenue were to become available?
Response:
Revenue estimates for increasing the Sanitary Sewer Rate by 50%, 75%, and 100% are an additional $1.36M, $3.07M, and $4.77M respectively above the $2.10M revenue increase for the FY 2018 proposed rate of $1.82/1000 gallons. The additional cost increases per household for these percentage rate increases would be $15.12, $34.02 or $52.92 respectively above the $22.68 annual increase of the currently proposed rate ($1.82/1000 gallons), based on an average water usage of 54,000 gallons/year.
Staff has prepared and presented an aggressive Proposed Sanitary Sewer 10 Year Plan, taking into consideration funding and capacity required to complete projects, as well as project constraints (time needed for technical/engineering evaluation and studies, planning, permitting, right-of-way acquisition, and design and construction).
Although no additional expenditures would be planned if the Sanitary Sewer Rate were to be increased in FY 2018, it would allow the City to issue $2.5 million less debt in FY 2018 and/or decrease the planned use of $700,000 of Sanitary Sewer Fund Balance in FY 2018.
Planned expenditures for FY 2018 would not change very much as a result of additional revenue. Projects planned for FY 2018 – FY 2019 are to be completed sequentially and could not be completed earlier, due to the non-funding constraints noted above. However, about a rate increase of about 80% would raise more than $3.2 million and enable (as stated above) the financing plan to change, as well as avoid a rate increase in FY 2019.
The potential changes in out year expenditures will be dictated primarily by changes in schedule afforded to the City to address all four combined sewer system outfalls in the pending legislation at the General Assembly.