[{"_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":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6203896,"mediaKeyId","3781121-0794051a031f95de122b19bdef38decb","parentId",3781121,"title","County officials detail $1.6 billion '1 Water' program; pipeline construction for segment B to begin September 2025","audioSeconds",947,"startMs",2109000,"endMs",3056000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3781121-0794051a031f95de122b19bdef38decb&start=2109&end=3056","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3781121-0794051a031f95de122b19bdef38decb/thumbnail_2109000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6203896/Hillsborough-County/Florida/County-officials-detail-16-billion-1-Water-program-pipeline-construction-for-segment-B-to-begin-September-2025","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6203896-a8af9bcafee90fab7db79c26c7471c69/orig.mp4?Expires=1771177724&Signature=MYgbRYVaJWzYf2IpDhMW5uPOg13oPnaiLJMQzpeR6IwI25yBvsCXNKbzqcZ9XRkS991WDcVw5uIZrhRqAFH~sD-nKPctJS3s5vJ8KxfzCIH4a6ZWa62-pvM-pYpJMUyyf5W6iQW5jYHK4GmV7jPtio9DsgFuPH~RX62LqtlVgG~K~R1hWxrNURK-cWxRE8NFQgwieb3icxgyrF~5nIGoPG07mnbcaSCj19f3W-67sYEQBIZHcrJ86IKH44KoNcl7OIg4BvkeacqZ2DEMnulX82-6XR15qzajxN8wR3WnTOt8vm42g~0n2uYq6wFNn~9bUa6XToZYAIh91iigyWI9NA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Hillsborough County, FL ","date","2025-06-12T08:49:56.123Z","article","George Cassidy, Assistant County Administrator for Public Utilities, and Lisa Ray, Director of Water Resources, briefed the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners on June 11 about the county's Water Resources capital program and the county's largest-ever single water project, the \"1 Water\" campus.

\"We never lost drinking water supply to our customers,\" George Cassidy said when summarizing the utility's response to recent storms and the resilience of the system during outages.

Lisa Ray described the system footprint and the project's schedule and funding priorities. The county serves nearly 800,000 people in the unincorporated area, operates across roughly 300 square miles and—she said—has added 52 miles of new water pipe, 64 miles of new wastewater pipe, 25 new lift stations and about 805 new manholes in the last 18 months.

Ray said the county intends to advertise for a construction manager at‑risk (CMAR) in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2025 and expects the new water plant to be operational by 2029. She said county staff received a construction permit from the Environmental Protection Commission for pipeline segment B and that construction for that segment will begin in September 2025.

\"Overall, our 1 water program has a value of about $1,600,000,000,\" Ray said, characterizing the program as a long‑term investment to provide capacity for a growing population.

Why it matters: staff presented modeling showing that, without additional capacity, two of three South County wastewater plants would exceed permitted capacity as growth continues. The 1 Water campus is intended to transfer flow and provide capacity to serve new residents and limit overcapacity risks at existing plants; Ray also flagged continued challenges at the Falkenberg plant and potential impacts to the Bellrico plant from future urban service area expansions along I‑4.

Ray said the department adjusted its five‑year capital improvement program (CIP) to absorb inflationary impacts and higher capacity needs, identifying roughly $780 million in additional need across five years on top of an existing five‑year CIP of about $2.6 billion. To accommodate the 1 Water priorities, staff deferred four projects and returned to the county's rate consultant; staff said the current rate structure approved by the board will cover the identified needs based on the rate sufficiency analysis presented (the transcript contained a typographical date for the rate schedule that could not be verified in the workshop record).

Funding sources Ray cited include utility rates, participation in the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) activities (countywide coordination), and prospective adjustments to impact fees.

Ray and Cassidy also described interim measures to address near‑term water pressure challenges in South County. Staff distributed community outreach materials encouraging irrigation schedule changes and plan to install a temporary booster pump station in the Balm Grove East area to improve pressure; Ray said the temporary installation has an initial cost estimate of about $600,000 that includes construction and pipeline work and that monthly rental costs were not specified.

On reclaimed water, Cassidy and Ray said the utility produces reclaimed water and the new plant will too; county ordinance currently does not require developers to install purple pipe (reclaimed water distribution) though staff said they are discussing targeted requirements in some corridors where purple pipe can be connected efficiently.

Board members asked technical questions about interim pumps, fire‑flow design and reclaimed water. Commissioner Bowles asked about augmenting pressure before the plant comes online; Ray described outreach, a temporary booster pump and modeling for additional relocations of boosters as needed. Commissioner Wolff referenced estimates that irrigation consumes a substantial portion of potable water and noted the value of conservation outreach.

Ending: Ray reiterated the long timeline and scale of the program and said staff will continue to seek grants and federal disaster‑recovery funding while moving the project through procurement and construction milestones.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of County Commissioners: 2026 Budget Workshop - 6.11.25","oneSentenceSummary","Hillsborough County Water Resources officials told commissioners during the June 11 budget workshop that the '1 Water' capital program—valued at about $1.6 billion—will expand drinking-water and wastewater capacity, with pipeline construction for segment B starting September 2025 and the new water plant targeted to be online by 2029.","taxTitle","Hillsborough County, Florida","taxId",2865,"location","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":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6203900,"Hillsborough County outlines FY2026 budget framework and proposes 0.1 mill swap to bolster unincorporated services",1189,310000,1499000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3781121-0794051a031f95de122b19bdef38decb&start=310&end=1499","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3781121-0794051a031f95de122b19bdef38decb/thumbnail_310000.jpg","/articles/6203900/Hillsborough-County/Florida/Hillsborough-County-outlines-FY2026-budget-framework-and-proposes-01-mill-swap-to-bolster-unincorporated-services","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6203900-6cf4305f64a185858bf9cffeb1dc31f0/orig.mp4?Expires=1771177724&Signature=TIz6ny8wuUGeQXTObJFAfjXgll7co~E8tDgzThsJreBg8jHU45V0VCpULU5nk3rkxSYdeD-Lq0qS2NUQ07tg2Kv1nPS1UkkuP7dwYCgOQXRlxV7z7EWMdtVbwphZSFVPP5qXtnnMYNif4yeGGj2Kr2KjpyNOjyB-gjFwUhfEPpJzxSZdfJ4eatirlcbk5qVqkvmtfil81dfth~sGdL-SGkDewe5l~O9v91W1jw8f4SoEDHHptr-~eiyMzZobxwQ7u2KnBaXrxeIgwun~Vs0cLcxTNLyEbJjvzdsXFfic6TH7qzIwqTupXeJT14esANsWi2o2ikmqUK8iJBLMPgP7fQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Kevin Brickey, Management and Budget, updated the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners on June 11 on the county's path to a recommended fiscal year 2026 budget, including a proposed 0.1 millage swap that would reduce the countywide millage and increase the unincorporated millage to help fund services in unincorporated areas.

\"We continue to keep in mind our guiding principles, where we are looking to adopt a strategically balanced budget, where recurring revenues and recurring expenses are in line,\" Brickey told the board during the budget workshop.

The presentation is the third of four scheduled budget workshops ahead of the county administrator's delivery of a recommended FY2026 budget at the July 16 regular meeting. The county administrator also recommended a July 23 workshop focused on transportation, stormwater and the indigent healthcare fund.

Why it matters: the millage swap and one-time funding choices affect property tax bills for city and unincorporated parcel owners, reserve ratios that underpin the county's AAA credit rating and planned capital and operating investments in transportation, fire rescue and other services.

Brickey reported the property appraiser's June 1 preliminary estimates of taxable value: countywide estimated taxable value rose about 6.5%; the unincorporated-area increase came in at about 6.05% (the county had expected 6%). He said the growth rate in assessed and taxable values has decelerated from recent highs as mortgage rates and lingering inflation affect home prices.

On millage, Brickey said the FY2025 countywide millage is 5.6025% and the unincorporated millage is 4.4745. The FY2026 recommended budget will include an additional 0.1 millage swap: a 0.1-mill reduction countywide paired with a 0.1-mill increase in the unincorporated rate. He said the swap—added to prior FY25 swaps and reductions—would reduce countywide property tax revenue by about $17.9 million, increase unincorporated-area revenue by about $10.6 million, and result in a net countywide decrease of roughly $7.3 million. Brickey also noted the county's current AAA credit rating.

Brickey said combined reserves for the two general funds were 23.8% in FY25; he projected the recommended FY26 budget would show combined reserves near 23% with countywide reserves about 24.7% and unincorporated reserves near 20%.

On savings and adjustments, Brickey identified several items that helped fund priorities and one-time investments: reductions in non‑departmental allotments (about $17 million), lower reserve ratio flexibility that freed about $15 million, a nonprofits funding reduction of about $3.7 million (some of which he characterized as one‑time awards in prior years), capital improvement realignments of about $3 million, elimination of a parks debt millage (0.0259 mills) producing about $2.6 million in savings, department operating budget tightening (~$2.5 million), and elimination of 14 long‑term vacant positions (approximately $1.3 million in fully loaded savings).

Planned investments Brickey summarized from the general funds, unincorporated and CIT included about $134 million for transportation, $33 million for fire rescue and emergency management, about $30 million for sheriff capital investments, $10 million for stormwater, $5 million for Veterans Memorial Park, $5 million for a pet resources facility (design money), and about $4.6 million for various parks projects. He noted resurfacing funding of $35 million plus about $5.4 million in fuel tax revenue.

Board discussion highlighted requests for further detail. Commissioner Walston praised the transparency of the presentation and asked for a breakdown of items in the non‑departmental allotments cleanup. \"That was a great presentation. Thank you. And that was very transparent to me,\" Walston said. Commissioner Moles asked whether reserve changes related to hurricane payouts; Brickey said the projected reserve adjustments were intentionally funding one‑time items and were not driven by hurricane payouts.

Next steps and deadlines noted in the workshop: the county administrator will deliver a recommended FY2026 budget on July 16; staff will use the June 1 taxable value estimates in the recommended budget and July 1 estimates will feed the adopted budget; the budget review and adoption calendar includes a tentative July 30 date for millage rate flagging and public hearings scheduled for Sept. 4 and Sept. 18.

Ending: the workshop continued with presentations and a later agenda item on the Water Resources Department's capital program.","At a June 11 budget workshop, county staff presented an FY2026 budget framework that includes a proposed 0.1 millage swap to shift revenue from the countywide rate to the unincorporated rate, projected reserve changes and one-time savings and investments in transportation and public safety.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

County officials detail $1.6 billion '1 Water' program; pipeline construction for segment B to begin September 2025

Hillsborough County outlines FY2026 budget framework and proposes 0.1 mill swap to bolster unincorporated services