Caribou Utilities District trustees approve 2025 budget, elect officers amid questions about January expenses

The Caribou Utilities District Board of Trustees on Feb. 12 approved the district'025 budget, elected officers and approved January minutes and financial statements while debating whether January payroll and other timing issues distorted early-year expense figures.

The vote to adopt the 2025 budget was taken after discussion of line items that trustees said appear high for January. Trustee David Martin moved to approve the budget; the motion was seconded and approved (board recorded the vote as unanimous; exact counts were not specified in the transcript). The board separately moved and approved the January monthly minutes and the January financial statements.

Why this matters: the budget sets 2025 spending levels for both the water and wastewater enterprises. Trustees noted several January figures that, if they persist, would push annual spending well above the adopted amounts and asked staff and the auditor to reconcile timing and payroll anomalies before the next reporting period.

Board discussion and staff explanations Trustees pressed staff about several line items. They singled out a $27,000 “miscellaneous subscriptions, dues and fees” line in the water account and asked for detail about what drives that amount. Staff said some fees are mandatory (examples cited: bond bank charges and GIS software) and that membership dues such as Maine Rural Water are typically small (one figure cited in discussion: roughly $1,500 this year). The board also discussed office expenses that exceeded $10,000 in the prior year.

Trustees raised payroll as a central concern. Board members observed three payrolls in January and noted that combining payrolls and PTO timing produced an elevated monthly total that—if extrapolated—would exceed the annual budget figure the board had reviewed. Staff said the auditor will post adjusted journal entries to move expenses that belong to 2024 back into that year. The board discussed retirement and health-insurance costs: staff said health-insurance premiums increased roughly 9.4 percent and that one employee newly moved onto coverage, adding to the district'025 cost base.

The board asked staff to consider a one-page master summary that consolidates water and wastewater totals so trustees can see a combined public-utilities view at a glance while preserving the separate accounts required for PUC reporting.

Operations, maintenance and emergency planning Staff reported crews repaired six water main breaks since the last meeting, including one on Railroad Street; employees drove from a regional conference to respond to an urgent break and completed repairs that day. The district also reported completion and operation of newly installed heat pumps at district facilities.

On wastewater infrastructure, staff said the FEMA application for a permanent generator at the Grimes pump station may not succeed under the current federal funding climate. As a contingency, the district is exploring rental and short-term lease options. Staff said a rental generator would cost roughly $10,000—2,000 per month and that the pump station would need about a 250 kW unit to sustain pumps; temporary aeration has additional fuel/capacity implications. Staff is investigating options including a portable plug-in and local lease agreements with electricians or private owners.

Audit, liens and insurance Auditors from Chester Kearney completed fieldwork and will provide the final audit report within about a month, staff said. The district also received payment that enabled release of liens on a property listed as 61 Washburn; paperwork to release those liens is being processed. Separately, the district received one insurance reimbursement for power-surge damage last fall and expects payment on a second claim; staff noted the policy has a $1,000 deductible.

Board action and next steps The board asked staff and the auditor to prepare adjusted journal entries to correct 2024/2025 timing issues, and trustees asked for a consolidated monthly summary to accompany future packet materials. The board set its next regular meeting for March 12.

Votes at a glance: - Motion: "I move to appoint Sue Sands as a district clerk." Outcome: approved (unanimous; mover/second not specified in transcript). - Motion: Nomination and election of Gary Aiken as board president. Outcome: approved (unanimous; mover/second not specified). - Motion: Nomination and election of David Martin as treasurer. Outcome: approved (unanimous; mover/second not specified). - Motion: Nomination and election of assistant treasurer (nominee identified as "Diggly"). Outcome: approved (unanimous; mover/second not specified). - Motion: Approval of the January 15, 2025 monthly meeting minutes. Outcome: approved (unanimous; mover/second not specified). - Motion: Approval of the 2025 budget. Outcome: approved (unanimous; mover/second not specified). - Motion: Approval of the January 2025 financial statements. Outcome: approved (unanimous; mover/second not specified).

Ending note: Trustees combined routine housekeeping (officer elections and minutes) with substantive budget scrutiny and operational briefings; staff will return adjusted accounting entries and a summary dashboard in coming packets so the board can monitor whether January'025 anomalies correct over the next reporting cycles.