[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6056110,"mediaKeyId","3311830-aa7ceb6acaab1adf6b5e497b22836431","parentId",3311830,"title","Council hears FY26 special‑revenue budget: parking revenue, stormwater options, Prescott Park and community campus updates","audioSeconds",1098,"startMs",2121000,"endMs",3219000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3311830-aa7ceb6acaab1adf6b5e497b22836431&start=2121&end=3219","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3311830-aa7ceb6acaab1adf6b5e497b22836431/thumbnail_2121000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6056110/New-Hampshire/Council-hears-FY26-specialrevenue-budget-parking-revenue-stormwater-options-Prescott-Park-and-community-campus-updates","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6056110-8906d533af51f9286f25e57202aa7a34/orig.mp4?Expires=1776143081&Signature=NkRHx6PBVubQip0z-XBSeoYFVngPbTVwO7~rgxYOkk7RtYANxRKWXG7VqsJ324CHQPOlslnjMOTkDpman7uwfxYxtldcfLvDU1imMS5AMwE5WgbPB-hSAYGLjuX~8Qc0~FspjM9mqLG~dQjbMf8jMdblcnfOuRXdNZ6mdgvQw8~QBkvXnirSh8MwbHuYHPZyK0-7BF1RSBX7~nmBkQzu3xW7qG52pRTd9QZ1KdlAi26OTe~3KzW6Tex-Lo2cUH1eMDKogNAUx3W6uKfwohKYLJrgRN6nlrQFetqCGjGi1uag9O2qYDCev~UUUNDH~sDzQNnFhIBlMEfQAbT1YJKCbg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-05-14T21:33:17Z","article","City staff presented FY26 proposals for the city’s special‑revenue accounts Wednesday, highlighting parking and transportation, stormwater, Prescott Park and the community campus — plus a one‑time confirmation of federal CDBG funding for FY25.

Ben Fletcher, parking and transportation director, told the council parking revenues fund a large share of downtown services and said returning Hanover Garage’s 300 spaces to service will materially increase available inventory. “A median household in Portsmouth actually is going to realize a nearly $500 decrease in property taxes, due to the fact that we use these outside funds to support these programs and services,” Fletcher said, describing wide uses of parking revenues that go beyond enforcement and maintenance.

Stormwater, funding and a utility study
Jamie McCarty, GIS and stormwater manager, said stormwater is funded about 50% from the general fund and 50% from sewer enterprise funds for FY26, with supplemental use of fund balance planned. “Almost everything we do is driven by regulatory compliance,” McCarty said, listing inspections, catch‑basin cleanings, wet‑ and dry‑weather sampling and a street‑sweeping program that averages about seven passes per year on some streets. McCarty said the city has moved much water‑quality sampling in‑house, reducing costs from an estimated $60,000 annually to under $10,000.

McCarty also recounted the city’s 2022 feasibility work on a dedicated stormwater utility and said the issue remains under study; the Great Bay Total Nitrogen General Permit requires municipalities to consider sustainable stormwater funding. Deputy City Attorney Suzanne Woodland added that the city had delayed pursuing an ordinance while monitoring Conservation Law Foundation and EPA actions around regional permitting, and that if council wishes to proceed staff can bring materials for further sessions in early fall.

Parking inventory and revenue
Fletcher said returning Hanover Garage to roughly 903 spaces (from about 600 during renovation) will help absorb parking demand displaced by private construction projects downtown and increase transient turnover capacity. He described in‑house signage work and a plan to implement recommendations from a 2025 parking utilization study. Fletcher said fiscal 2025 gross parking revenue is tracking toward about $11.3 million and that restoring Hanover capacity contributed to the FY26 budget projection of about $12.8 million.

Community campus, pools and Prescott Park
Todd Henley, recreation director, said the ongoing $2.5 million community campus improvement project will add a third indoor pickleball court and other renovations, and that nonprofit tenants have signed multiyear lease extensions. Henley said the indoor pool has expanded open hours, doubled open‑swim time since hiring a full‑time lifeguard, and runs substantial Red Cross instruction programming.

CDBG confirmation
Staff reported that formal HUD authorization for the FY25 Community Development Block Grant arrived the afternoon of the work session; the FY25 CDBG award is “just over $500,000,” staff said, and will fund community programs in that grant year.

Public questions and concerns
Councilors asked about parking pricing, neighborhood permit programs, and whether stormwater should move to an enterprise utility model. McCarty and Woodland said much of the technical analysis from a 2022 feasibility study exists (parcel counts, impervious‑area estimates) and that implementation would likely take a year and require billing‑system changes and council policy decisions. Woodland said the city has been coordinating with EPA and the Conservation Law Foundation on regional permitting questions and would propose a timeline for council consideration after summer.

Resident comments urged caution on raising parking rates and highlighted downtown retail impacts; a resident noted that privatization of certain off‑street parking has reduced formerly available free spaces used by residents. Staff said piloted neighborhood permit and street‑sweeping programs are planned before any city‑wide rollouts.

Ending note
Staff said they will continue work sessions and offer more detailed proposals if council requests further analysis on a stormwater utility, parking pricing changes or schedule adjustments for the Hanover reopening. The budget schedule remains: budget public hearing May 19, deliberation May 28 and anticipated adoption June 9.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","5.14.2025 City Council Budget Work Session","oneSentenceSummary","Presenters reviewed parking, stormwater and other special‑revenue funds and proposed uses, including returning Hanover garage capacity, continuing stormwater monitoring and exploring a stormwater utility; staff also confirmed HUD CDBG funding for FY25.","taxTitle","Portsmouth City Council, Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire","taxId",68330,"location","New Hampshire","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6056115,"Portsmouth officials outline FY26 water, sewer budgets and proposed rate increases to shore up capital needs",1572,559000,2131000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3311830-aa7ceb6acaab1adf6b5e497b22836431&start=559&end=2131","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3311830-aa7ceb6acaab1adf6b5e497b22836431/thumbnail_559000.jpg","/articles/6056115/New-Hampshire/Portsmouth-officials-outline-FY26-water-sewer-budgets-and-proposed-rate-increases-to-shore-up-capital-needs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6056115-f25a750aeb446dbb201dbcacf96f08a6/orig.mp4?Expires=1776143081&Signature=k3wrKWM0NH38dnYPJgq-uQjyJHMQ77yVfKOjMNKMbYVESFzKcrKMIOt91MD-9UIc1ah4yu8QJHqqPjr3z3l07K~Bn2qJdpC-pJ-zA0eV~F01xTN-5R6zWZWuXqMFIeBcn5qsCS1yHnK80U6aPuyUHhBTjqlMzNE2QoZzEJ82FTMn9-~jvNBZAYiYBthlxgIe6kpK3-NqDg2g0i0s~13OLWRKzft5AOysWYUsmOrLd5n4mvYTiSdvB2K946~NgJyJGk~R0tbx~2d3I966a3AwmMBx43NnxSauCH-GSq~dZU9qJ359O6eMIaV9LV9p8QHwn6CTiuTbASWG-H4J~ZM6fA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City officials presented the proposed FY26 budgets for Portsmouth’s water and sewer enterprise funds at the council work session Wednesday, saying the plans include rate increases intended to stabilize finances ahead of major capital work and regulatory requirements.

The proposed water budget is $15,000,000 — a $1,000,000 increase year over year — and staff said the resulting change to most residential bills would be “not more than $2.25 per month.” City staff proposed a sewer budget of $27,200,000, an increase of $1,600,000, with an expected residential impact “not more than $3.45 a month” for most customers.

“The water and sewer is not supported by tax funds. It is solely a self supported effort,” said Peter Rice, director of public works, explaining the enterprise-fund model that relies on fees rather than property-tax support.

Why it matters: City presenters said they are planning in advance for capital costs and changing regulatory requirements — in particular new PFAS treatment obligations — and for aging infrastructure. Officials described their approach as a stabilized-rate model that smooths increases over time rather than imposing large, sudden spikes when expensive projects occur.

“We use a stabilized financial plan … which gives you a relatively straight line for rate increases over time,” Rice said. He and operations staff said that approach helped the city manage a previous wastewater‑treatment plant program and that they plan to revisit model assumptions next year.

Specifics and programs
Al Pratt, water resource manager, proposed a water unit increase of 45¢ per unit (one unit = 748 gallons). “That equates for an average user that uses about 5 units per month, 2 dollars and 25 cents increase per month, which would be $27 per year for your average user,” Pratt said. Pratt listed routine operations and monitoring that the water division performs: sampling, treatment at a surface plant in Madbury and a PFAS treatment facility at Pease, operation of 10 groundwater wells, 4 storage tanks (10,600,000 gallons total capacity) and more than 200 miles of distribution mains. He noted the city completed an EPA-required water service line inventory in house with $135,000 from the state DES and free lead test kits provided to 330 customers.

Eric Fiedler, city engineer, proposed a sewer unit increase of 69¢ per unit, “approximately $3.45 per month” and said the increase funds collection, treatment and regulatory compliance, including nutrient limits under Great Bay permits and ongoing work under a consent decree to reduce combined‑sewer overflows (CSOs). Fiedler said the city has secured more than $30,000,000 in low‑interest State Revolving Fund loans and about $8,000,000 in principal‑forgiveness grants to support projects.

Capacity and performance
Staff described system capacity in 2024 as having meaningful residual capacity: Pratt reported roughly 26% residual sustainable source capacity (about 1,200,000 gallons per day available) and about 28% residual maximum capacity in 2024. Fiedler said Pierce Island wastewater treatment’s nameplate capacity is about 6,130,000 gallons per day and Pease about 1,200,000 gallons per day, with 2024 flows below those maxima. He noted recent projects are already reducing flows and CSO impacts, and listed projects under construction or near completion around the city.

Accomplishments and in‑house work
Presenters highlighted examples of in‑house work that saved money: staff installed mixers on a Lafayette storage tank with SCADA/electrical crews performing wiring and programming; operators ran a PFAS media pilot and replaced underperforming media themselves; and the meter crew swaps more than 700 meters per year and tests roughly 2,700 backflow devices.

Public comment and council questions
Residents raised concerns about overall cost burdens and how administrative overhead is apportioned to enterprise funds. Petra Huden, a resident, cited the FY24 PAFR and the city’s practice of charging portions of general‑fund administrative salaries to enterprise funds, saying those billed amounts have risen and add to rate pressure.

Esther Kennedy, a resident, asked about CSO alerts and PFAS timelines; staff said recent heavy rains contributed to a CSO activation and that PFAS rule timing from EPA will be reviewed but that required treatments for two wells will likely proceed.

Councilors pressed staff on why the water rate increase is a higher percentage for FY26 despite modest revenue increases; presenters said the larger percentage restores net position and builds reserves ahead of capital and PFAS costs, while sewer increases were adjusted downward from earlier projections to ease combined impact on households (city noted a combined average monthly increase of about $5.70).

Next steps
City staff reminded the council of the budget process timeline: a public hearing opens May 19, deliberation is scheduled for a May 28 work session, and the council will reopen the hearing on June 9 with adoption anticipated that night. No formal votes on rates occurred at the work session.

Ending note
Officials said they will revisit the rate model and baseline assumptions next year and continue seeking grants and low‑interest loans to reduce impacts on ratepayers.","City staff presented FY26 enterprise budgets for water and sewer Thursday, proposing modest monthly increases for most residential customers to build reserves for PFAS treatment, capital projects and aging infrastructure while noting recent accomplishments and inventory work required by EPA.","actionData","errors"]

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Council hears FY26 special‑revenue budget: parking revenue, stormwater options, Prescott Park and community campus updates

Portsmouth officials outline FY26 water, sewer budgets and proposed rate increases to shore up capital needs