Finance staff tells council enterprise funds will fund major FY26 capital work; $3.5 billion projected debt through 2060

At a council workshop, Dennis O'Hara, the city’s chief financial officer, told members the city’s enterprise funds — water, wastewater, solid waste, parking and golf operations — are being used to finance a large capital program and that borrowing will be paced to project schedules rather than taken as a single large issuance.

O'Hara said, “Enterprise funds, again, for those at home or those watching who may not know, are those agencies that we mandate operate, similar to a business. Everything they charge must be spent on their services. You know, you can't charge water rates for for the police, things like that.” He added that staff will avoid “borrow[ing] and start[ing] paying interest on any money that we're not putting to use.”

Why it matters: The enterprise funds hold most of the city's utility and user‑fee‑supported infrastructure. Decisions about when and how to borrow affect ratepayers, bond markets and long‑term operating budgets. Council members pressed staff for details on fund‑balance rules, reserve minimums and the likely timing of bond issues.

The most notable figures in the presentation: staff showed an anticipated FY26 capital improvement program (CIP) for enterprise funds near $300 million and roughly $1.3 billion over…