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Utilities report: meter reading program expands, hydrant maintenance backlog may require $200K contract and added staff
Summary
City staff reported progress on meter reading cycles after reassigning utility staff to assist with AMI reads, identified dozens of blocked or inaccessible meters, and presented a plan to outsource full hydrant exercising and inventory (estimated ~$200,000) while requesting additional operations staff in the next budget cycles.
City utilities staff told the Utility Advisory Board on April 28 that meter‑reading operations are improving after reassigning several utility employees to assist with AMI reads, but that both meter access issues and a large backlog of unexercised fire hydrants require attention and resources.
Staff reported that three utility staff members were temporarily reassigned to work with the AMI meter‑reading contractor; after two complete cycles the readers finished ahead of schedule and located meters that had been blocked by vegetation, sod, decorative features and even boulders. Staff said they will deploy door hangers and notices to customers with blocked meter lids, and that meter boxes must remain accessible under city code (staff referenced Chapter 17) to avoid potential violations.
Separately, staff said the city has about 1,417 hydrants on the system and that current in‑house capacity cannot exercise and test them all within recommended schedules. Staff described a vendor model several Florida municipalities have used: contract crews perform a full hydrant inventory, exercise and flow tests, paint and identify needed repairs, and deliver a GIS‑integrated report and replacement/rebuild kit list. Staff said one vendor estimate for a complete program was about $200,000, and that insourcing would require adding positions and equipment at roughly a $60,000 annual salary for a maintenance technician plus vehicle and tooling costs.
To address workload and longer‑term needs, staff said they are requesting additional positions in the upcoming budget: two additional wastewater technicians and two water distribution technicians (with phased hiring over two years), and that four AMI/meter technician positions are already included in the personnel plan. Staff also mentioned seeking an engineering technician/grant funding coordinator and a project manager to support capital work.
Board members expressed support for adding staff and outsourcing to catch up on hydrant maintenance; one member said the board will back staffing requests at City Council. Staff said the outsourced hydrant program is intended as a one‑time catch‑up and to produce a maintenance plan the city can sustain with in‑house crews thereafter.
