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Stantec study finds modest rate path for sanitation fund; recommends 3.5% annual increases
Summary
Consultant Stantec told the Flagler Beach commission that 3.5% annual rate increases would sustain sanitation operations and planned vehicle replacements for the next decade, while warning that higher costs or earlier capital spending could require larger increases.
A consultant’s financial analysis presented to the Flagler Beach City Commission recommends modest, predictable rate increases to preserve the sanitation fund’s reserves and cover scheduled capital replacements.
Peter Napoli of Stantec Consulting told the commission the analysis used the city’s 2025 budget as a base and projected operating costs and capital needs over a 10-year horizon. Under an assumed pattern of 3.5% annual rate increases, Stantec estimated the sanitation fund would remain solvent through scheduled vehicle replacements and modest capital needs. Without further increases, the fund balance would be depleted in the model by about 2030.
Napoli said the study assumes operating-cost escalation near 5% annually on items such as landfill fees, professional services and supplies, but that the existing fund balance and modest rate adjustments would cover those increases and planned capital: roughly $1 million of sanitation capital over 10 years, including a replacement collection truck about every three years.
Stantec’s survey of neighboring jurisdictions showed Flagler Beach’s single-family monthly sanitation bill (including recycling) remains below some nearby providers; under the modeled increases the single-family bill would rise from $27 to about $32 by 2030. The firm advised periodic reviews of the plan in case capital timing or cost assumptions change.
Commissioners asked about possible revenues from recycling innovations such as glass-crushing programs; staff said potential proceeds from new recycling uses were not yet factored into the model and that the consultant had used conservative assumptions.
The Commission received the presentation; no formal rate action was taken at the meeting. Napoli recommended continuing the multi-year program of modest rate increases and periodic review.
