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Council hears options on water-sewer rates as major plant work and debt roll-off create funding window
Summary
City staff presented a range of water/sewer rate options at the Aug. 12 meeting, noting $33 million in candidate capital needs (including upgrades at the '61 plant), about $11 million in a debt sinking reserve, and that debt service obligations will decline next year, freeing roughly $5 million for capital or to reduce future rate pressure.
Wichita Falls — At the Aug. 12 special meeting, city staff outlined options for the water and sewer fund tied to capital needs, debt maturities and proposed modest rate changes.
Staff told council the water and sewer fund shows a projected balance of about $33,000,000 at the end of the fiscal year but that roughly $20,000,000 of that balance is unavailable for general use because it is reserved for plant costs, Ringgold-related items, and a debt sinking reserve. Staff said roughly $11,000,000 of the water fund is in a debt-sinking reserve that can be used to make final payments on long-term debt, which will significantly reduce next year’s debt-service obligation.
Why it matters: the council must decide whether to raise rates to accelerate capital work or keep rates lower and phase projects over time. Staff framed the choice as one between affordability now and lower future rate risk.
Steven Calvert, presenting the options, said a 2% proposed increase in water/sewer and stormwater appears in the draft and that, under a 2% scenario, operating revenue would be about $54.3 million, operating expenses about $34.9 million, and capital expenditures about $8.3 million. Staff said typical municipal math means each percentage point change in rates yields about $500,000 in revenue.
Russell (city utilities/water operations staff) described the highest-priority capital items. The top priority is refurbishing the ‘61 plant (treatment-plant upgrades identified in a prior Black & Veatch evaluation). Russell listed multiple needed projects at the 61 plant and in pressure planes: filter-gallery improvements already partially repaired, an east pressure-plane pump station, secondary reservoir pump upgrades, a half-million-gallon elevated storage tank for the east pressure plane, and a 20-inch main to improve flows between towers. Russell warned that planned development on the city’s east side — including the business park and school-related growth — could “max out” East Pressure Plain capacity and require earlier investment there.
Staff emphasized that a chunk of debt is rolling off next year. Calvert told the council that typical annual debt payments were about $12 million but — because of the sinking fund — next year’s water-sewer debt payments could fall to roughly $5.7 million, freeing about $5.3 million in capacity for capital or debt-service cushioning.
Discussion vs. decisions: the council asked questions about timing and priorities; staff said the city has flexibility and that the council should give guidance. No rate increase was adopted on Aug. 12. Councilors asked for options and trade-offs; staff recommended considering using the debt-rolloff window to begin high-priority projects such as the 61 plant rehabilitation.
Ending: Staff said they can begin priority work in FY26 if council directs it, and that a full water master plan update underway could identify further projects.
