Commission postpones vote on Delray Beach water and sewer rate increases to allow additional notice and analysis

City financial advisers and staff told the Delray Beach City Commission that higher water and sewer rates will be needed over several years to pay for a replacement water treatment plant and related capital work; the commission postponed formal adoption to allow additional public notice and required business‑impact analysis.

City Manager and staff updated the commission on procurement for long‑lead items, including construction of two deep‑injection wells and other plant components. Daryl Parker of Willdan Financial Services presented the rate study and a multi‑year rate path. Parker said the capital cost estimate for the new treatment plant had risen substantially since an earlier estimate — staff reported a jump from roughly $130 million to approximately $280 million — a change that drove updates to the financing and rate proposals. Parker and staff described a two‑phase borrowing plan to spread costs across two bond issues and to allow rates to “catch up” as debt service comes online. He said the city is considering capitalizing construction‑period interest to smooth early‑year cash requirements and that the target debt‑service coverage ratio remains stronger than the covenant minimum (staff set a 1.5 target rather than a 1.2 minimum).

Parker showed the impact on a typical residential customer (about 6,000 gallons a month) and said the rate increase originally forecast at roughly $3.09 per month (in prior planning) would now be about $9.32 per month under the updated capital and financing assumptions. He emphasized that the proposed path still left Delray’s typical monthly bills below the average of a selected peer group, but the near‑term step would be large because of the increased capital requirement.

Following the presentation, the commission voted to postpone the ordinance (second reading) to allow the city to prepare the required business impact estimate and to re‑advertise the hearing. The postponement was set for the May 20 meeting (public notice to be issued); staff characterized the delay as necessary to meet statutory advertisement and analysis requirements for rate changes.

Members of the public who spoke at the hearing were largely supportive of the plant replacement and the rate increase, including residents who live near the existing plant. One resident raised concerns about vibration and equipment noise at the existing facility and asked the city to analyze vibration impacts on nearby homes; staff acknowledged the comment and said the issue would be investigated.

With the postponement, staff will finalize procurement for long‑lead items and return on May 20 with the advertised ordinance, the business‑impact estimate, and any additional analysis requested by commissioners.