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Menands Board previews WaterWorth financial model; pricing proposal $12,000 a year
Summary
The Menands Village Board heard a demonstration from WaterWorth on a cloud-based financial-modeling platform that models utility rates, capital projects and debt scenarios. The company proposed an annual $12,000 access fee (general fund $6,000; water $4,000; wastewater $2,000). The board will review materials and consider a vote at a future meeting.
The Menands Village Board on Nov. 18 heard a demonstration from Lachlan Hunter of WaterWorth showing how a cloud-based financial-modeling tool could help the village forecast utility and capital costs and assess rate impacts.
Hunter told trustees the platform ties accounting data, fixed assets and capital plans into a single model so the village can test “what-if” scenarios for water, wastewater and general funds. He said the tool can incorporate debt, state revolving loans and grant assumptions and calculate how proposed projects and wage increases affect operating budgets and reserve balances. “We want to make intelligent financial decisions and use that data to project into the future while tying in our fixed assets and investments,” Hunter said.
As an example, Hunter showed a hypothetical for a 2025 looping project: delaying the work until 2028—given historic inflation assumptions—could increase that project to about $5,200,000, which would require borrowing or larger rate adjustments. Hunter described phased rate options to keep the village sustainable and avoid a single large correction, saying a proactive program of smaller increases could avert a drastic 22% spike later.
Hunter also outlined WaterWorth’s pricing and support. He said the vendor’s proposal would give the village full access to the platform for about $12,000 a year, broken down as $6,000 for the general fund, $4,000 for water and $2,000 for wastewater, and that the fee includes unlimited training and implementation support. “There’s no billable hours or anything like that,” he added.
Hunter identified the company as serving roughly 280 customers across North America and said several are in New York. He encouraged board members to request follow-up calls or demonstrations; trustees asked questions about training, local examples and how the model would work with the village’s new accounting system. The board agreed to review the written proposal and discuss the subscription at a subsequent meeting, with no formal procurement action taken on Nov. 18.
Next steps: trustees will examine the WaterWorth proposal and supporting materials and the item may return to the agenda for a formal decision at an upcoming board meeting.
