Tampa Bay Water presents FY2026 budget; rate rises about 2¢ per 1,000 gallons

Tampa Bay Water officials presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget and capital improvement program to the board during a budget workshop on April 21.

Chief Financial Officer Christina Sackett told the board the proposed uniform rate for fiscal year 2026 is “slightly below $2.64 per thousand gallons which is an increase of about 2¢ or less than 1% from the current fiscal year.” She said staff plans to use $4,000,000 from the rate stabilization account and about $500,000 from the operating reserve to limit the rate change.

The budget, Sackett said, is driven by rising debt service after the agency issued $420,000,000 of bonds in October 2024 to fund roughly $580,000,000 in capital contracts. Debt service now accounts for roughly 43% of the agency’s total costs; total FY2026 costs were presented as $219,400,000 and the capital improvement program (CIP) estimated expenditures as $254,500,000.

Nut graf: The package puts most near‑term rate pressure on debt service tied to recent bond sales while using reserves…