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Franklin staff recommend multi-year water and sewer rate path; board weighs sewer impact-fee scenarios
Summary
City consultants presented a water and sanitary sewer cost-of-service study showing 2026 baseline increases (about 6% water; 5.7% sewer) and four sewer-impact-fee scenarios. The board asked for more analysis weighing developer-paid infrastructure versus higher long-term debt and ratepayer exposure.
City of Franklin staff and consultants presented a cost-of-service study and a rate plan for water and sanitary sewer on Jan. 14, recommending baseline increases for 2026 and showing how different sewer-impact-fee choices affect long-term borrowing and customer bills.
The briefing matters because Franklin plans to add major wastewater capacity (a proposed south plant) and must decide the mix of development-paid impact fees, debt and customer-rate increases to fund that growth without jeopardizing utility financial health.
Fernando (Hazen consultant) summarized the analysis. For water, staff recommended a roughly 6% annual increase in 2026 (and similar levels through 2031 under current assumptions) driven primarily by purchased-water costs and operations/maintenance; the model seeks to restore a positive net position by the end of the planning window. For sewer, consultants proposed a required 5.7% increase for 2026 to meet debt-service-coverage and near-term obligations; after 2027, the planned increases depend on the sewer-impact-fee approach the board adopts.
Hazen ran four fee scenarios to illustrate trade-offs: (1) retain…
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