Keizer warns water and stormwater capital could halt without new revenue

Keizer staff told the Long Range Planning Task Force on Dec. 8 that both the water and stormwater enterprise funds are at risk of losing capacity to fund needed infrastructure without new revenue.

Budget Officer Tim Wood said the water fund is expected to show a roughly $713,000 loss this year, with reserves sufficient for short‑term needs but capital outlay projected to fall to $0 by 2027–28 under a status‑quo scenario. "We're not gonna replace any water lines," Wood said, adding that deferring pipe replacements now risks much higher emergency costs later.

Stormwater, Wood said, is the most urgent concern: the fund is tracking roughly a $1.3178 million loss this year driven in part by an unanticipated Willow Lake Estate storm drain realignment. Wood called the Willow Lake project "a 3 year, 3 phase kind of project," and the city attorney noted the existing drain alignment runs through private backyards which makes the relocation necessary and more expensive.

Staff proposed options for the task force to consider in February–March: multi‑year rate indexing for utilities, borrowing or debt financing to spread capital costs, deferring nonessential capital projects, or identifying alternative revenue sources. The task force directed staff to model a range of scenarios showing the fiscal and service impacts of (a) fully funding capital outlay, (b) partially funding capital, and (c) deferring capital until revenue is secured.

Wood emphasized the tradeoffs: maintaining infrastructure incrementally is less costly over time than emergency repairs. The task force did not adopt a preferred option at the Dec. 8 meeting; staff will return with analysis and recommendations early in 2026.