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Moses Lake utility fund proposed expenses rise 14.2% as capital contribution increases
Summary
City staff presented a proposed utility fund budget of about $8.0 million, citing a 14.2% increase driven mainly by a $300,000 rise in capital contributions and higher internal service allocations. Staff also summarized wastewater staffing certifications, sewer cleaning mileage, and an accounting discrepancy flagged by Council member Myers.
Moses Lake City staff presented a proposed utility fund budget of $8,000,247.01, a 14.2% increase from the prior year, at the city council’s budget workshop. Officials said the largest drivers are higher capital outlay and increased internal service allocations.
The increase is driven in part by a roughly $300,000 rise in the fund’s contribution to capital — from about $1.7 million to $2.0 million — a change staff described as about a 20% increase in the contribution. Staff also said internal service allocations and accounting adjustments contributed to the overall 14.2% increase.
The wastewater division highlighted certifications and operational results. Staff reported the division currently includes two “wastewater four” operators, two “wastewater three” operators, one “wastewater two” and three “wastewater one” operators; all wastewater staff are certified in confined-space entry, attendant, and rescue operations. The division said it cleaned more than 221 miles of gravity sewer line in 2025 and received a 2024 Outstanding Performance Award for the Larson treatment facility.
Council member Myers questioned the ending fund balance, saying the numbers did not appear to add up and asked how an additional $2 million ending fund balance was calculated. A staff member acknowledged a likely formula error and said they would review it. Staff also said utility-tax receipts appeared higher than earlier budgets had forecast; one staff speaker said the apparent 88.5% increase in the utility-tax line came partly from underbudgeting in previous years and noted the tax is treated as a pass-through that is collected in the fund and transferred to the general fund.
On transfers, staff said transfers from the utility fund to the general fund typically were done at year end and that they plan to move to monthly transfers to better reflect actual collections; the system currently requires manual transfers. Council and staff also discussed internal service allocation changes that increased charges collected from utilities.
No formal motions or votes on the utility fund were recorded during the workshop. Staff requested time to correct the ending-balance formula and said they would return with corrected figures as part of the regular budget process.
Ending notes: staff emphasized that several line-item changes are mechanical (internal allocation and timing of transfers) and that the proposed capital contribution change is the single largest driver of the fund-level increase.
