Bountiful opens hearings on Light & Power transfers and proposed 2025–26 water and power rate increases

Bountiful city staff on Tuesday held public hearings to explain a proposed administrative transfer from the Light and Power Fund to the general fund and to present proposed water and power rate increases for fiscal year 2025–26.

Galen Rasmussen (staff member) told the council the transfer reimburses the general fund for services provided to enterprise operations — payroll, accounting, information technology, legal, engineering and similar functions — and has historically been implemented as a dividend from the Light and Power Fund back to taxpayers. Rasmussen described the current proposal for fiscal year 2026 as $3,000,164, representing about 7.2% of the budgeted expenses of the Light and Power Fund. He noted the city has used several different calculation methods over the years (including a 10% of metered sales approach) and that the transfer reduces pressure on property taxes by helping fund general services used by non‑property-tax-paying entities.

During the hearing Dr. Ronald Mortensen, PhD, a Bountiful resident, asked a series of detailed questions about the transfer and Bountiful Light & Power rates, seeking: (1) the total amount paid by nonprofit and other non‑property-tax-paying entities to the power system each year; (2) whether non‑property-tax-paying customers pay a special rate to fund the transfer or whether they pay standard residential or commercial rates; and (3) why Bountiful’s seasonal power rates and fixed customer charge differ from rates charged by Rocky Mountain Power and why the city does not offer the same energy‑efficiency rebates the investor‑owned utility provides. Rasmussen said staff would follow up with additional information and that the public hearings would be continued to allow more public input and to permit final action when the mayor is present.

The council then heard presentations on the water and power departments’ budget-driven capital needs and rate proposals.

Craig Christensen, representing the water department, said the system serves roughly 11,139 service connections and includes about 180 miles of mainline pipe, 15 reservoirs, 14 booster stations, nine wells and one treatment plant. Christensen said the department earns about $6.5 million annually from metered water sales and that the proposed increases would help fund an ongoing capital program, including a target of about 3.5 miles per year of mainline replacement and reservoir replacement work. He described the Mill Creek Reservoir, a roughly 3.5 million‑gallon facility with cracking and concrete spalling, and sketched a plan to build a temporary 1.5 million‑gallon reservoir adjacent to the existing structure to keep water in service while replacing the original reservoir. He also said recent regulatory changes under the federal lead and copper rule require more extensive service-line replacement practices and drive additional costs.

Lloyd Cheney, the city engineer, and councilors asked technical questions about pressure‑reducing valves (PRVs) and scheduling. Cheney confirmed coordination between street projects and water main replacement so the city does not leave new streets over old pipes. He and others said Bountiful’s multi-tier water rate structure aims to keep basic users in lower-priced blocks while charging more for heavy use.

Power department staff (including Luke Beagle and Tyrone Hansen) described the department’s generation and distribution assets — three gas-burning turbines at the plant, six substations, roughly 90 miles of overhead distribution and 135 miles of underground distribution lines — and the department’s capital needs. Officials proposed a 3% overall electric rate increase effective July 1 and a 10% increase in selected fees; they also proposed raising the pole-attachment fee from $14 to $15. Staff noted that material costs and lead times have increased since the pandemic, that wire and other components have risen substantially in price, and that tariffs could further increase supply costs.

Power staff described outage drivers and system maintenance needs: a significant share of recent outages were caused by animals (squirrels), crews replace poles as they fail (the system contains about 4,930 poles; the department typically replaces roughly 127 poles per year), and a portion of the underground cable inventory consists of older bare concentric cable that is costly and time consuming to pull and replace. Capital projects highlighted included a Northwest Substation rebuild budgeted at over $5 million (staff also estimated total rebuild costs higher given inflation) and a 10‑year capital plan of roughly $45 million in today’s dollars to address substations, transmission reconductoring, distribution upgrades, metering and other needs.

On rates comparisons, staff prepared a point-by-point comparison to Rocky Mountain Power that incorporated the investor-owned utility’s various schedules and the utility’s recent 4.7% increase; staff said, after the proposed 3% increase, a typical Bountiful residential customer would pay about $2.60 less annually than an equivalent Rocky Mountain Power customer under the assumptions used.

Councilors and staff emphasized that no final votes on transfers, the budget or rates were taken on June 10; the public hearings were continued to the June 24 meeting for final consideration and adoption. Staff said they would provide additional information requested during public comment and accept further input at the continued hearing.