Santa Rosa Water subcommittee recommends FY25-26 operating and CIP budget after presentation of $110.5 million package

Santa Rosa Water staff on the budget subcommittee recommended the utility's proposed fiscal year 2025-26 operating and capital-improvement budget to the full board after a presentation and discussion at a subcommittee meeting. The package totals about $110,500,000 and covers water, wastewater (local sewer), regional reuse and stormwater and creeks programs.

The presentation, led by Director Burke and Deputy Director of Administration Nick Harvey, emphasized a planned restoration of capital investment and operating assumptions that shaped the budget. "The biggest takeaway here in my opinion is CIP budget. We plan on delivering approximately $33,200,000 in capital projects," Harvey said, describing a near doubling of the CIP program compared with the current year.

Why it matters: the proposal shifts the utility back toward larger capital spending after cuts the prior year, while also budgeting for higher operating costs driven by an assumed 9% departmentwide salary increase, higher electricity costs and a wholesale water rate increase from Sonoma Water. The subcommittee voted to recommend the package to the full board by a unanimous roll call.

Top-line numbers and rate assumptions

Staff told the subcommittee they assume a 1.1% increase in water deliveries tied to growth and that proposed retail rates follow the five-year schedule under consideration by the City Council. Harvey summarized the rate assumptions used in financial modeling: multi-year increases for water usage and fixed charges and a separate multi-year schedule for sewer rates. Wholesale water purchase costs are a major driver: staff assumed an 8.68% wholesale rate increase from Sonoma…