Punta Gorda consultants say 12% revenue increase needed to fund urgent water system projects; 5% alternative presented

Punta Gorda utility consultants told the City Council at a public workshop that the city needs an immediate revenue increase to fund urgent water and sewer infrastructure projects, offering a recommended plan that phases in a 12% overall revenue increase through 2029 and an alternative that would raise current rates by 5% across the board.

The recommendation came from Danica Katz of Stantec, introduced by Utility Director Tom Spencer. Katz said the study — a periodic rate analysis Stantec has performed for the city since 2005 — found “a 12% overall revenue increase needed through 2029” to keep the system solvent while accounting for growth and large upfront capital needs, notably the Shell Creek reverse-osmosis (RO) expansion and a water treatment rehabilitation project. Katz summarized modeling that shows reserves would be depleted by 2027 with no rate increases and asserted the 12% scenario would restore a three-month operating reserve after the initial years.

The study lays out two primary options for fiscal 2026: the consultant’s recommended approach, which restructures tiers and places more of the burden on volumetric sewer charges, and an alternative that keeps the existing five-tier water structure and applies a uniform 5% increase. Katz described the proposed approach as aiming to “move closer to cost of service,” while the alternative would “just be 5% across the…