Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council hears water and sewer fund briefing; staff seeks PFAS settlement money for capital projects
Summary
Finance and waterworks staff told the City Council the water and sewer fund had a negative unrestricted balance and a multi-year capital need. Staff proposed moving $2 million in anticipated PFAS settlement proceeds into the capital project fund and assigning about $469,900 from surplus to the PFAS filter project to cover up-front costs.
Salisbury City Council members received an extended presentation on Aug. 11 outlining the structure, challenges and capital needs of the city's water and sewer enterprise fund and an accompanying ordinance to reallocate PFAS settlement proceeds for capital work.
Sandy Green, the city's director of finance, told the council the water and sewer fund is an enterprise fund paid for by user fees rather than property taxes and said fees are reviewed annually during the budget process. "The water sewer fund is an enterprise fund, which means it's a self-supporting fund, operated like a business," Green said when introducing the overview.
Green and Corey Cameron, director of Water Works, described drivers behind rising costs: debt service schedules, required upgrades such as PFAS filtration and post-employment benefit liabilities. Green said the water and sewer fund carried a negative unrestricted fund balance of roughly $3,000,000 in FY 2024, and staff presented a five-year capital-improvement plan for FY 2026–FY 2030 with an estimated total need “approximately $93,000,000.” Cameron said major projects include wastewater plant work, a force-main replacement and an outfall pipe replacement, and that delaying those projects only raises future costs.
To help finance upcoming capital work, staff introduced an ordinance to move $2,000,000 of anticipated PFAS settlement proceeds out of the operating water and sewer fund and into the water sewer capital project fund, and to apply $1,500,000 of planned PAYGO (pay-as-you-go) capital to be funded with those proceeds. The finance director said the proposed reallocation would leave a gap of $469,900 that would be recorded as a use of water and sewer fund surplus and transferred into the capital project fund to support the PFAS filter project’s continued development. Council members expressed support and staff reported consensus to move the ordinance forward for formal action.
Council members pressed for clearer timelines and itemized lists of deferred projects and costs. One council member requested a timeline showing when projects were first identified and what the projected cost increases have been, saying that a simple list of past projects and their original schedules would help residents and elected officials understand the fund’s condition.
Staff also reviewed typical utility-billing components and customer protections: a 45-day payment window before a 5% delinquent fee applies, an additional two-week grace period before disconnection, a $50 administrative reconnection fee, and assistance such as a leak-adjustment policy (Resolution 3030) and a water-assistance program that can provide up to $2,000 per year for eligible households.
Council members asked staff to provide the requested project timelines and additional detail for upcoming capital-improvement planning as the city prepares the FY 2027–FY 2031 CIP.
