City fiber utility nearing buildout; staff project short‑term general‑fund draw, profit by 2027
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Summary
At the July 7 council meeting the fiber committee reported network growth, outage root‑cause analysis and multi‑year financial projections showing an expected general‑fund draw in 2025 and profitability in 2027 as more customers come online.
Anacortes — The council’s fiber committee reported July 7 that the city’s municipal fiber utility had nearly 2,700 net customers and roughly 4,100 signups, representing an estimated 54% market share in covered areas, and staff presented a three‑year financial projection showing an expected draw on the general fund this year and a forecasted profit in 2027.
Councilmember McDougall, reporting from the fiber committee, said the department expects to draw about $1 million from the general fund by the end of 2025 to complete network construction. Projections shown to council estimate a $300,000 draw in 2026 and a projected net profit of about $175,000 in 2027, with increasing profits thereafter as construction expenses wind down and more subscribers attach.
Committee members also reviewed a June outage and a department root‑cause analysis that identified a misconfiguration in one optical line terminal (OLT) as the cause. Staff said the misconfiguration created a looping condition that was difficult to find and that they treat it as a one‑time event.
Why it matters: The fiber program represents a multi‑year capital and operating effort. The program’s near‑term budget needs and the plan for a general fund draw were presented as part of the committee briefing; councilors asked questions but took no formal action on July 7.
Other details
- Coverage: Staff released an updated coverage map showing broad service availability in the EDA geography; the department estimates it now covers roughly 90% of city addresses.
- Construction timeline: Network construction is expected to complete most work this year; the committee said planned network construction will largely finish by year end.
- Outage: Staff characterized the June outage as a misconfiguration in a single OLT and described it as an unlikely event to repeat.
Ending: The committee recommended continuing to monitor operations and return to council with any budget amendments or updates; staff flagged the need to potentially draw funds from the general fund in 2025 and seek smaller draws in 2026 before forecasted profitability in 2027.