Richmond Sanitary District reviews $4.7 million in reappropriations; public hearing, vote set for next meeting

The Richmond Sanitary District board on March 10 reviewed Resolution 1-2026, which would reappropriate previously earmarked capital improvement funds to cover design work and projects for the sewer system and biosolids program. Director (S3) outlined specific line items and emphasized that no new funding or rate increase is being requested at this time.

Director (S3) said the district is seeking $4,747,448 from the Sewer Capital Improvement Fund for the high-rate treatment project’s design work and an additional $350,000 from the sewer utility fund, while noting other projects and account reassignments included in the resolution. S3 explained that many of the dollars have been placed in capital improvement funds since 2021 and are now being appropriated because project timing has changed.

S3 also described a re-appropriation for return activated sludge (RAS) pumps and explained an additional $250,000 request to complete rehabilitation of all rectangular primary clarifiers rather than a partial tank-by-tank approach. On biosolids funding, the director said the district would prefer to fund a $687,500 portion from the sewer utility fund rather than from stormwater capital funds and that any alternative stormwater uses of those previously appropriated dollars would be brought back to the board for approval.

President (S1) and Director (S3) clarified that the public notice published for today’s meeting was a courtesy and that the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) remains the official avenue for the required public hearing and adoption timeline. S3 emphasized that, because the DLGF notice was not completed in time, the board will hold the public hearing and take the formal vote at the next scheduled meeting.

Why it matters: the appropriations would move multi-year, earmarked capital funding into the current-year budget to allow design and construction work to proceed on major wastewater infrastructure projects; the scale includes multi-million-dollar items that will be phased and subject to normal procurement and oversight.

Next steps: the district will hold the formal public hearing and vote on Resolution 1-2026 at its next meeting; questions from the public may be directed to the district in the interim, and any stormwater-board implications would return to the stormwater board for separate consideration.