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Council reviews water, sewer and sanitation fund lines: meters, grants and recycling costs discussed
Summary
Council and staff discussed meter installs in North Morgan, exhausted meter grant funding, a sewer fund shortfall covered by impact fees, and upfront recycling expenses tied to sanitation service changes.
Council members pressed city staff on enterprise funds for water, sewer and sanitation during the June 24 work meeting, asking about meter installs, grant availability and fund balances.
Ty said the city needs to install additional meters on secondary-water connections in North Morgan even though the city does not bill secondary water yet; the state grant money that funded meter installs elsewhere was exhausted and did not cover connections that do not qualify as a secondary-water system. "So we don't have meters. So they got grants, right, for the meters?" a councilmember asked; staff replied that the state grant program ran out and those particular connections did not qualify for the earlier round of grant funds.
On the sewer fund, staff noted a projected operating shortfall of about $93,000 in the final budget that would be balanced by impact-fee collections and nonoperating revenue; staff said the sewer fund still holds the largest fund balance of the city's funds and the shortfall is manageable. On sanitation, council members discussed one-time upfront costs for new recycling service, including the purchase of residential carts; staff said the amended budget contemplates higher sanitation revenues next year and that the city has an approved diversion grant but has not yet received the check.
Why it matters: Meter installs, grant eligibility and enterprise fund health affect both day-to-day utility operations and longer-term rate-setting. Council members asked staff to monitor grant opportunities and to return with a clear picture of ongoing costs and any rate implications.
Staff said the water-meter expense was built into the amended budget but does not, in staff's view, require an immediate rate increase. The council requested further detail on meter counts and grant timing before final budget adoption.
