Boulder board reviews utility finances, CIP and rate outlook ahead of June deep dive

The Water Resources Advisory Board on Monday, May 19 reviewed an overview of the City of Boulder’s three utilities — water, wastewater and stormwater/flood — and heard staff outline how capital projects, operations and debt service affect the utility funds and planned rate projections.

The briefing, given by the utilities budget analyst and senior engineering staff, covered 2024 actuals and the 2025 revised budgets, asset-condition priorities for pipeline and plant work, and why Boulder’s residential utility bills run higher than many Front Range peers.

Steph Lingaman, the city’s budget analyst for utilities, said the three enterprise funds operate like businesses and are funded by user fees rather than taxes. “We collected about $92,000,000 in revenues” in 2024, Lingaman said, noting that the figure included bond proceeds; 2024 expenses across the utilities were roughly $51 million after accounting for operating costs, debt service and capital spending. She said the wastewater and stormwater funds show similar patterns where multiyear capital projects and…