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City staff outline $7.8 million, 10-year stormwater plan and three funding scenarios
Summary
City staff presented a draft financial chapter of the stormwater master plan showing a 10-year capital need of about $7.8 million and three funding scenarios that would raise the average residential stormwater bill from $13.49 to roughly $22.66–$24.28, depending on grant availability and debt levels.
City staff presented the draft financial chapter of a stormwater master plan that projects about $7.8 million in escalated capital needs over the next 10 years and recommended three funding scenarios to pay for the work.
The plan, presented by Kyle Anderson, assistant city engineer, and Karen Johnson of KLJ Financial Consulting, examined baseline operations and then modeled capital funding under three approaches: (1) a mix of grants, new debt, rate increases and cash reserves; (2) a smoothing option with somewhat lower short‑term increases and higher later increases; and (3) a conservative option that assumes no grant funding and therefore heavier reliance on debt and rate increases.
The draft shows current monthly residential stormwater charges of $13.49. Under the scenarios presented, the average monthly stormwater charge at year 10 would range from about $22.66 (scenario 1) to $24.28 (scenario 3). The consultants said those percentage increases translate to a relatively small dollar change for individual customers — roughly $1.13 to $1.32 per month on average — but are necessary to fund operations, build modest capital reserves and finance the capital program.
Why it matters: the city has little or no stormwater capital reserve now, and the consultant said funding the identified projects without grants would require substantially more new debt. The draft capital improvement program (CIP) lists about $6.5 million in current‑day project costs; after assumed construction inflation the total funding need rises to about $7.8 million over 2025–2034.
Most important details: the consultant recommended baseline rate increases to maintain 30 days of operating reserves and then showed additional rate paths to cover capital. One baseline projection to maintain operating and maintenance needs would require roughly 3.15% annual increases starting in 2026; the scenario that assumes grant funding showed larger early increases (about 7.5% in the first years, then 4% thereafter) and assumed roughly 57% of the CIP could be grant funded, about 23% funded from rates and cash and about 20% from debt issuance. The no‑grant scenario raised the estimated new debt issuance to roughly $6 million, with annual debt service rising accordingly.
Discussion and next steps: Council members asked about low‑impact development (LID) credits for new development, the effect of customer growth on revenues, and whether low interest loans would change the mix of debt versus rates. Staff said the draft will be refined and returned in August with options for final policy choices; adoption of rate changes and a proposed stormwater general facilities charge would follow separate public hearings later in the fall.
The presentation was a first read; no rate ordinance or other formal action was proposed or adopted at the meeting.
Ending note: staff said the draft is intended to start a policy discussion and that final adoption of any rate increases and a connection/general facilities charge would occur after additional council review and public notice.
