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Water and sewer budget: council and staff review ARPA, meter and main replacement projects, FEMA mitigation and grant reimbursements
Summary
Finance and water department staff reviewed a large water/sewer spending plan that includes ARPA‑ and bond‑backed water main replacement, lead service line and meter replacement projects, SRF and CSO funding, and noted grant drawdowns already underway; council members raised questions about insurance allocations and interfund billing.
City water and sewer staff gave an extended presentation of the water fund’s revenues, capital projects and grant financing, including ARPA‑backed water main replacement, a large lead service line replacement estimate, water meter replacement, and combined sewer overflow (CSO) basin projects.
Grant and bond funding: The administration said the water program combines multiple funding sources. Staff and the comptroller explained that ARPA money and bond proceeds were committed for water main replacement and related projects; reimbursements have been submitted and some drawdowns already received for meter purchases. Staff asked that project expenditures for meter and main replacements be included in the recommended budget so contractual pay applications can be processed; finance noted those revenues will offset the expenditures through reimbursements.
Project scale and timing: The water meter replacement program and a lead pipe replacement program were discussed as linked initiatives; the lead replacement schedule depends on meter work that identifies candidate homes. Staff reported total project estimates across multiple items in the tens of millions of dollars (representative figures presented in the hearing: water main replacement project lines totaling roughly $9–13 million in staged spending and a lead‑line estimate over $12 million across phases). The CSO basin projects and SRF‑backed work were also described as multi‑year efforts with a mixture of loan/bond and grant funding.
Interfund charges and insurance: Councilors raised concerns about how MMRMA (municipal insurance pool) premiums and liability allocations are distributed across funds. Finance reported the insurance premium allocation includes multiple funds and noted historically water/sewer has borne a significant portion of MMRMA charges (about 27% in the cost allocation example discussed). Council members asked staff to review allocation methodology and to report back.
Emergency repairs and operations: Staff noted a budgeted emergency water/sewer repair line (historically used as needed) and said contractual services for sewer cleaning, lining and other maintenance will continue; the department reported contractors performing TVing/jetting and lining work this year.
Ending: Staff said they will correct the recommended budget to include grant‑funded project lines that are already under contract and will provide reconciled project totals, pending reimbursements and updated fund balance projections at the next hearing.
