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Finance report: audit underway; water-main repair praised; dryer project hauling now costing about $60,000/month
Summary
Finance staff told the River Falls UAB an external audit will finalize year-end numbers; members heard a detailed operational update including a January 21 water-main repair and continued biosolids dryer problems that have required hauling (~$58,000 invoice; ~ $60,000/month) and a forthcoming memo with a cost analysis.
Erica Ellifson presented the finance update and operational highlights to the Utility Advisory Board and outlined steps staff will take to make monthly financial reporting more transparent.
Erica said year-end financials are not finalized pending an audit by CliftonLarsonAllen and that, based on preliminary numbers, enterprise funds are in good overall position and adding to fund balance. She told the board that future monthly reports will include revenue trends, days of liquidity (cash on hand), cash-reserve status, capital-improvement spending and debt-service timelines so the board can track the effect of a mid-2025 rate change.
On operations, staff reported a large water-main break at 511 East Johnson on Jan. 21 that required 7.5 hours of repair in difficult frost and saturated soils; staff thanked Brent, Tim, Todd, Thomas, David and Joe (utility/public-works staff) for the response.
The meeting also included a substantive update on the biosolids dryer project: staff said the screw-press polymer currently in use was not suitable for cold-weather operation, that new cold-weather polymer was expected to arrive Wednesday and that Schwing Bioset (the screw-press vendor) would return to recalibrate operations; BCR would resume dryer operation once the screw press is dialed in. Meanwhile the city has been hauling product to Ellsworth; staff said they sent an invoice for about $58,000 to the general contractor (Waupeshaw Construction) and described hauling at roughly $60,000 per month. Erica said she and staff will deliver a memo and a written analysis later in the week that will compare prior estimates to actual costs and examine contractual timing and obligations.
Why it matters: The finance and operations updates give the board information needed to judge whether the dryer project and hauling arrangements are meeting budget expectations. Staff flagged that West Central Wisconsin Biosolids costs have been higher than earlier assumptions (an early estimate in the discussion put annual costs north of $700,000) and said the board will receive a written memo with deeper analysis.
