Public Works presents FY272728 budget; water costs and pipe failures put pressure on rates

Kyle (S13) presented the Departments of Public Works budget request for FY272728, covering administration, streets, fleet, facilities and water. He said the packet reflects department requests for council review, not final adopted figures, and called attention to several large adjustments: moving $1.7 million to capital for the Rose Crest Road rehabilitation, incremental increases in sidewalk and road maintenance, and a 5.1% overall request for certain Public Works lines.

On water, Kyle said revenue assumptions follow the city27s water rate model and noted last year27s drought makes consumption trends unreliable; the model used a composite 11% increase in charges (a 6.5% previously approved rate plus 4.5% assumed growth). He highlighted operational pressures: "the water department is seeing more water main breaks," requiring an overtime increase of about $25,500 and an extra $47,000 for repairs, and council discussed premature failures of some service lateral materials.

Staff also proposed purchasing a GIS-based notification and communication service to push targeted outage or emergency messages to affected areas; Kyle said the tool costs about $40,000 but could automate notices rather than relying on door-to-door visits or opt-in systems. He and council also noted a $78,000 required fee from the Division of Drinking Water and large projected water purchases from Jordan Valley ($1.3M in '27, roughly $1.028M thereafter), contributing to a projected 13.7% increase in water expenditures for FY27.

Council asked how the department might bridge gaps between requests and the rate model; staff said they would propose potential cuts or adjustments as part of the formal budget proposal and that the council would adopt the final budget. No formal votes were taken at this work session.