[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-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",[32,76],{"_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":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6057329,"mediaKeyId","3307192-499c42e5e9f32e76a8ff9056e9abc5ae","parentId",3307192,"title","Metro Water Services presents 2026 operating budget increases, urges conversation on stormwater fees and long-term capital needs","audioSeconds",2118,"startMs",20324,"endMs",2139225,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3307192-499c42e5e9f32e76a8ff9056e9abc5ae&start=20&end=2139","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3307192-499c42e5e9f32e76a8ff9056e9abc5ae/thumbnail_20324.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6057329/Tennessee/Metro-Water-Services-presents-2026-operating-budget-increases-urges-conversation-on-stormwater-fees-and-long-term-capital-needs","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6057329-62a9c4c8edcdc4c5217cb62c823c2e77/orig.mp4?Expires=1770856063&Signature=MQqhoiAFrOAezNt1eIfta24KccjO45cszXk21yGYnlf7Q60TYdvPjNUT3eDQNqUQaYPCncHtC6yLAK40~XRpbeQVyagICrM~JekCy6YPs~sxd75bqnyg3MPSHgyVMAXZl1p0fJtk~TiD2i7SbrXsZkrg07LPAN3pEAfN~OC1NzgFWvo4G9No-q9mmfXvcG8bMic6OuKySrTeFF6-kMpyNXTiBhPa0nkIzW01h4o~327M0VAjkxe1YNsYfMrqBbSUakR5SEHXYWwsw7PtNlnB57~YGJsR9sS6TqI7PHpjoMxecaQun25QbsLfIMsVnE7MXLV2kUuVfXiPC6nPM2CPsg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Nashville, TN","date","2025-05-14T13:04:16Z","article","Director Scott Potter, director of Metro Water Services, told the council that the utility’s proposed 2026 operating budget reflects rising commodity and service costs and that the only line the department can control directly is labor. “Labor and benefits account for 39% of our budget,” Potter said. He said other recurring costs — electricity, chemicals and repair — limit the utility’s flexibility and that staffing reductions would likely increase overtime in operating divisions.

Potter said the water side of the utility will treat and deliver about 9,000,000 gallons of drinking water over a 24-hour period, reclaim about 56,000,000 gallons of wastewater and produce about 100 tons of biosolids each day. He gave unit-cost examples: “for every gallon of drinking water that we deliver to a home, it costs our customers 0.006¢. So a hundred gallons of water is 60¢,” and “a gallon of wastewater treatment is 0.009¢.”

The budget request Potter presented includes an increase he described as $5,900,000 for commodities, electricity, chemicals and repair, plus an additional $8,000,000 tied to the pay plan, internal service fees, capital and insurance; he characterized the total operating increase for those two items as $13,900,000 and, with other debt-service and reserve adjustments, said the 2026 operating increase compared with last year was $19,300,000.

Potter summarized Metro Water Services’ financial metrics used in ratings calls: the utility’s emergency-and-reserve (E&R) fund has about 783 days of coverage against a target of greater than 500 days; senior debt-service coverage stands at about 2.8 (above a 2.0 target); debt-to-net-plant-assets is about 36% (target <55%); and capital cash financing equals about 49% of the annual capital improvement plan. He said the utility’s revenue-capture rate is roughly 99.8 percent and that those items were positively noted in recent ratings calls with S&P, Moody’s and Kroll.

On stormwater, Potter called the stormwater master plan “an epic undertaking” that is inventorying a countywide system that has not been comprehensively mapped. “We finished 19% of the county at this point,” he said, adding the department is shifting toward neighborhood- and region-level prioritization rather than street-by-street fixes. Potter said stormwater adjustments in the current request include roughly $230,000 for the E&R fund and about $831,000 tied to pay-plan/internal service fees and insurance; he did not present a single unambiguous total figure for the stormwater change in the transcript.

Council members signaled they are ready to discuss potential stormwater-rate adjustments. Council Member Johnston said she is prepared to begin the conversation about stormwater fees and warned that postponing infrastructure investment can force later, larger increases in rates or taxes. Council Member Bradford pressed for more active sewer-extension policy to support housing development in underserved areas; Potter said extending sewer at Metro expense would be a policy decision requiring new funding and likely rate changes.

Potter described long-term capital projects on the water side, including work at the Omohundro plant. He said a program now under way will take about 12 years to complete and that the design includes granular activated carbon (GAC) contact chambers for treating trace contaminants and the ability to add ozone post-treatment if needed. “We built a pilot plant in 2018…and the granular activated carbon contact chambers [were] the best option,” Potter said, adding that the plant’s rebuilt facilities will aim for extensive sustainability, including solar generation sufficient to run the plant. He said the project will also preserve and repurpose historic buildings on the site.

Potter emphasized constraints and trade-offs: water-infrastructure replacement at a 1% annual rate would cost roughly $90,000,000 per year, a level he said the current capital plan does not support; he also noted the utility’s residential rate structure remains progressive and that overall rates are below peer averages. Janine Reid, director of finance, told the council she expects rating-agency reports to be released on the 15th following positive rating calls.

Council members asked about customer impacts and capital prioritization, and Potter said the department will present planning and prioritization tied to master plans and the five-year capital plan. He repeated that staffing is the main lever the utility controls and urged that elected officials and the public consider the trade-offs between service levels and rate impacts.

Potter closed by noting that Metro Water Services operates and maintains more than 6,000 miles of water and sewer pipe, dozens of pump stations, and two plants that can operate off-grid, and that the department expects to continue bringing capital projects forward for council consideration.

A formal vote on the budget item was not taken during this presentation; council members directed staff to return with additional detail and signaled interest in scheduling discussions about stormwater funding options.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","05/13/25 Metro Council Operating Budget Hearings: Water Services","oneSentenceSummary","Director Scott Potter, director of Metro Water Services, told the council that the utility’s proposed 2026 operating budget reflects rising commodity and service costs and that the only line the department can control directly is labor.","taxTitle","Budget & Finance Meetings, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee","taxId",69310,"location","Tennessee","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6057324,"Council hears first budget for new Department of Waste Services; $59 million operating request funds staffing, safety and routing technology",828,3019975,3848464,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3307192-499c42e5e9f32e76a8ff9056e9abc5ae&start=3019&end=3848","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3307192-499c42e5e9f32e76a8ff9056e9abc5ae/thumbnail_3019975.jpg","/articles/6057324/Tennessee/Council-hears-first-budget-for-new-Department-of-Waste-Services-59-million-operating-request-funds-staffing-safety-and-routing-technology","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6057324-dd603a6239f886dc731f9fd24565cff2/orig.mp4?Expires=1770856063&Signature=KCSBlkqAC1uEFCAwWRBtzxOqhRC7u6y41x3HGAmRls2bGxmpwhK3jg4wEHWVdISL37t7IaYGugos2jWN4Vvo~zLX2ObSr2O0zGZeqKR~tUdVfC~433s9opQCYPI7rciabiBr37YsIrky9mpfYxA4M5kedKMcyhMCjjYwa1GLQq-aG90Pnp2bERpfbcGQX5EI9K5IzaFgcFmSQk3hTYVdPxDG04mpV5teZKF7QrNBB01Gtl60TxHsD4hPu0jURJnafT7kDpXmTFeWluNHp-idiFr-FqtdRfNHx4M5pO4ZmW~K1zr5yFNWxN4YMf~i7InQ7FlFz~tz45rqlIRhcMT5bA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Tracy Thurman, director of the newly established Metro Department of Waste Services, presented the department’s first standalone operating budget and outlined steps to expand staffing, safety equipment and routing technology after a period of instability under a private contractor. “This is a significant moment,” Thurman said, adding that 83% of services had been provided by a contract vendor that later went bankrupt and that Metro ramped up in-house operations to restore service.

The department’s proposed operating budget for 2026 is roughly $59,000,000, a $3,600,000 (about 7%) increase over the prior year’s budget, Thurman said. She described priorities funded in the request: increased uniform and personal-protective-equipment allowances, new communications equipment so drivers can reach supervisors while on routes, a planned on-site mechanic for faster fleet maintenance, and route-optimization and telematics technology.

Thurman said the budget provides for an initial phase of new positions to build the department, including frontline collectors and equipment operators, additional field supervision and program managers, compliance inspectors, an HR analyst team, finance and IT staff, and an on-site mechanic. She named several leadership hires: assistant director Eugene McKinney; HR manager Patricia Reed; finance manager Jesse Dillard; safety coordinator Jessica Westbrook; IT manager Eddie Dean; and public information manager Dave Foster.

The department highlighted service and performance metrics: Metro provides weekly curbside trash to about 151,000 residents; 44,824 households receive weekly curbside trash collection in a subset of services; Metro insourced platform routes in November, adding service to roughly 38,000 homes and cited a $4,500,000 savings from those insourced routes this year. Thurman said 48% of trash service is currently handled by Waste Management, 25% by Waste Pro and 27% by Metro. For curbside recycling, the setout rate is 42% and contamination in the recycling stream is about 21% (with plastic bags, batteries and garden hoses commonly cited as contaminants).

Thurman described contracts and disposal costs: the department pays a processing contract for recyclables (about $121.02 per ton) and a transfer/disposal contract that Thurman said now runs about $47.25 per ton; Metro disposed of 64,291 tons last year. She said the current disposal contract ends in June 2027 and that the department will evaluate competition and contracting options once budget and staffing work are complete.

The department reported a successful food-composting pilot: about 43,100 pounds of food diverted, 750 participants and an 84% setout rate. Thurman said diversion and recycling gains have helped reduce landfill tonnage.

Council members raised operational and policy issues: Council Member Gamble asked whether compliance inspectors would address residents who leave carts out after collection days; Thurman said inspectors will work in neighborhoods to educate residents, issue notices and reduce contamination. Council Member Johnson questioned technology choices and overlap between Verizon Connect and Routeware/Zonar telematics; Thurman described Routeware as a solid-waste industry standard for confirmable collection records and said Zonar will be used for electronic DOT inspections of trucks. On the question of rental fleet costs, Thurman said Metro is negotiating an exit strategy with the vendor and that legal and repair inspections were ongoing.

Thurman also told the council the budget increases support safety improvements — vending machines for PPE distribution at facilities, increased uniform allowances and regular vehicle cleaning — and that the department will expand convenience-center supervision and study convenience-center locations and usability. She said a consultant (Barge & Wilmot) is evaluating convenience centers and potential improvements to access and service design.

No formal vote occurred on the budget presentation; council members generally supported the department’s goals and asked staff to return with additional contracting and operational details.","Tracy Thurman, director of the newly formed Department of Waste Services, presented a $59 million operating budget request to stand up the department, expand frontline staffing, add safety gear and route-optimization technology, and insource routes; the department highlighted recycling setout and contamination rates and a food-composting pilot.","actionData","errors"]

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Metro Water Services presents 2026 operating budget increases, urges conversation on stormwater fees and long-term capital needs

Council hears first budget for new Department of Waste Services; $59 million operating request funds staffing, safety and routing technology