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Westminster City staff flag utility capital needs, ISO review and likely rate pressures
Summary
City staff told council at a planning workshop that utility projects and public-safety staffing pressures will shape the coming budget year, noting large sewer and electric projects, a provisional change to the city’s ISO fire rating and a narrow window to retain a prior rating.
City staff briefed Westminster City Council at a planning workshop on major utility capital needs, a provisional change in the city’s ISO fire rating and budget pressures that may require rate or fee changes.
The presentation, delivered by city staff member Kevin, outlined the city’s budget schedule and several large projects that staff said will affect the coming fiscal year. “We did a 3% COLA increase. We had nearly a 12% health insurance increase,” Kevin said while summarizing last year’s budget actions and the operating pressures heading into the next budget cycle.
The nut of the discussion was on utilities and infrastructure. Staff described a multi-part sewer rehabilitation program (the “skip” project) that was originally estimated at about $5,000,000 but for which bids came back at roughly $1,700,000 for an initial section; that outcome freed a separate $3,200,000 funding opportunity staff said officials will deploy for Oak Street–area sewer work. Staff said they will advertise the Oak Street portion for bid and brought the city’s engineers and project manager into the planning work to finalize scopes and estimates.
Staff described several other utility priorities: replacing aging SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) hardware and software that monitors elevated water tanks; addressing pinches in the electric distribution system that staff said contribute disproportionately to outages; and targeted water-tank and pump improvements intended to improve system pressure. The presentation noted a staff retirement at the water treatment plant (Diana Denny) and said the operations team will remain but will have less senior experience when she leaves.
Public-safety staffing and the city’s ISO (Insurance Services Office) rating were highlighted as time-sensitive items. Kevin said Westminster had an ISO 2 rating in 2015 and, after a reassessment, staff were told the city currently has a provisional ISO 3. Staff told the council that two areas—staffing levels and water pressure—are the points ISO flagged and that the city has until October to show progress if it is to retain the prior rating.
Staff also described expected capital-financing steps. A utility bond program that staff planned to present earlier was delayed while the city closed an earlier USDA loan; staff said USDA consent was required before the city could borrow again against the utility system. The presentation listed bond administration and a proposed $1,500,000 placeholder for undergrounding electric lines and SCADA improvements; staff said refined estimates are still being developed.
Other details included a plug estimate for manhole rehabs (staff said individual manhole repairs range from about $15,000 to $75,000, with an example average of roughly $50,000), and a note that continued inflow-and-infiltration work is planned this calendar year. Staff warned that upcoming decisions involving PMPA and OJ RSA (acronyms used in the presentation) and other contract/governance matters will further affect utility rates and policy choices.
Kevin closed by reminding council of the formal budget schedule: work sessions before the February–April meetings, a special called meeting in April to receive a final proposed budget, first reading in May and a second reading in June.
Council did not take any formal votes on these items during the workshop; staff said they will return with more detailed cost estimates and formal budget proposals later in the process.
