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Sweetwater to move utility board payment into State Street Aid; Oak Street paving funded from unused landfill funds
Summary
City staff said the $20,000 annual payment from the Sweetwater Utility Board will be recorded as revenue to State Street Aid going forward; unused landfill paving money will be repurposed to pave Oak Street concurrently with the Lynnwood project, and the first draft of next year's budget will be delivered to commissioners on April 1.
Jessica, a city staff member overseeing the budget draft, told the workshop that the annual lump payment from the Sweetwater Utility Board will no longer be routed into the general fund and instead will be recorded as revenue to State Street Aid beginning with the next budget.
"We're going to put that money as revenue into State Street Aid," Jessica said, and she told commissioners the change will appear in the budget draft she will deliver on April 1.
Jessica also explained that landfill paving expense this year is less than expected and that the street department will use the unspent landfill paving funds to repave Oak Street while the Lynnwood and Hawkins paving project is underway. "The same bidder that won the Lynnwood paving project ... they're gonna do the work at the same time," she said. Staff characterized the plan as remaining within the department's bottom line while directing unused funds to a nearby roadway.
On capital projects, Jessica presented a draft capital improvement plan described as a "wish list" totaling placeholders that could reach $32 million over five years if all items were funded. She said firm cost estimates for the community center and pool LPRF project are pending and that both projects may require debt issuance. "When we come time to actually fund it ... we'll wanna look at debt issuance," Jessica said; she noted LPRF grants are typically 50% matches.
City staff discussed other technology and resilience investments in the draft budget: the council heard that a full backup generator for City Hall would cost about $38,000 to connect and run, and staff said they may apply for FEMA grant funding if an in‑kind solution using an existing generator is not feasible. On resident communications, staff said the current HyperReach vendor had poor follow‑up and the city is evaluating alternatives (Text My Gov quoted at $5,500/year with no setup fee if negotiated) with unlimited messaging plans budgeted going forward.
Jessica said she will send the first draft of the budget to commissioners on April 1 and will return to the board with more detailed financing options once bids and grant numbers are available.
