High Springs approves using emergency reserves to pay nearly $900,000 wastewater invoice as officials probe funding gaps

Mayor Andrew Miller and the High Springs City Commission voted on Nov. 13 to pay a late invoice tied to the city nk wastewater treatment plant project using the city —mergency reserves, after staff warned the bill would otherwise drain available cash.

City Manager Jeremy Marshall told the commission that an invoice linked to owner-direct purchases for the wastewater project was recently received and required immediate payment. Finance Director Diane Wilson said the bill and other project costs have left the wastewater system with a roughly $1.5 million deficit and that the city does not have the cash on hand to pay the vendor without dipping into emergency reserves.

The action comes after staff traced the invoice to a purchase order for Evoqua Water Technologies originally issued in early 2023. Engineer Jared Petrovich of CPH told the commission the overall project combined approximately $10…