Budget committee’s draft directs $815,000 in wastewater gross‑receipts utility tax toward streets in draft budget

At a City Budget Committee meeting (date not specified), staff presented a draft budget that includes $815,000 from gross‑receipts utility tax revenues associated with the wastewater utility to be applied to street funding in the coming fiscal year. The committee discussed the size of the wastewater fund balance, existing capital projects, bond considerations and the process required to change utility tax rates.

The proposal is part of a broader presentation on enterprise funds; staff said the wastewater fund would still record a $1,200,000 transfer to surplus and that the draft budget contains $1,200,000 for wastewater capital projects. Sheila Perry, finance staff, called the approach “creative,” and staff emphasized the wastewater fund remains substantially funded compared with other city funds. “The wastewater fund at the end of FY24 has a fund balance of $11,806,000,” staff said, noting total budgeted expenditures for the fund this year are $14,000,372.

Why it matters: committee members pressed that using utility tax…