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Franklin City finds elevated water losses, approves budget amendment to buy GPS unit
Summary
At a Franklin City Water Commission meeting, staff reported increased leaks and meter-reading problems and the commission approved the 2025 proposed water budget with an amendment to add a GPS data collector for mapping breaks.
At a Franklin City Water Commission meeting, utilities staff reported a rise in water-system repairs and persistent meter-reading problems, and commissioners approved the proposed 2025 water budget with a small capital amendment.
The commission voted to adopt the proposed budget with an amendment to add a GPS collector to the capital equipment list. Utilities Superintendent Glenn Beardsley described the GPS device as a tool to “go out and shoot locations” of main breaks so the city can map them into its GIS system and collect timely data. Beardsley said the device would be shared between the water and sewer funds and that the cost was discussed as roughly $4,200 in the meeting materials.
The commission heard a report on repairs and leaks covering roughly the past year. Beardsley said the utility logged 12 main repairs, 16 service lateral repairs and five leaking or struck hydrants in the most recent 12-month period. He contrasted that with 2023, when the utility recorded three main repairs, nine lateral repairs and seven hydrant repairs. “We did find a lot of leaks,” Beardsley said. He added that fixing the leaks cost money but that finding them should reduce losses going forward.
Staff also reported problems with automated meter readings. Beardsley said some larger meters produced mechanical readings locally but did not transmit data to the drive-by collectors, producing estimated billings. Those accounts include units managed by property-management companies; staff said they plan to address the issue in the first-quarter billing cycle.
City Administrator Kelly Hirsch and Director of Finance Danielle Brown joined the discussion on the budget. A commissioner noted the 2025 proposed figures were higher than 2024 actuals and asked whether the budget could be more conservative; Brown said she and staff had reviewed line by line and that the higher numbers reflected newly identified weak spots discovered during the recent water-loss study. Beardsley cautioned that parts and hydrants can be expensive — “a single hydrant is $4,000 to $5,000” — and said the contingency was intended to avoid repeated overages.
The sole amendment approved at the meeting was the addition of the GPS collector to the capital list and the budget was approved by motion, second and voice vote. No roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript.
The commission heard no immediate reports of water-main failures during the cold snap, and staff invited commissioners to tour the utility facilities in milder weather.
Looking ahead, staff said they will continue the water-loss study and bring follow-up budget adjustments and programmatic recommendations back to the commission if needed.
