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Board approves 2026 water, sewer and stormwater operating budget after funding awards noted
Summary
The La Crosse Board of Public Works approved the water, sewer and stormwater utilities’ 2026 operating budget, noting $9.1 million in state funding for three water projects (about $5.1 million in principal forgiveness) and a pending Inflation Reduction Act application that could return just over $3 million for wastewater energy upgrades.
The La Crosse Board of Public Works approved the city’s 2026 operating budget for the water, sewer and stormwater utilities at its Nov. 10 meeting after a presentation on falling revenues and rising costs.
Tina, the utility presenter, told the board that the utilities have seen revenue “consistently declining over the last 4 years” while facing higher costs for materials, energy, chemicals and contract services. She said capital investments through 2030 are focused on replacing aging water mains, sewer lines and facilities to sustain service reliability and reduce costly emergency repairs.
Tina said consultants have been helping the city secure state funding. Three water projects were approved for the 2026 fiscal year that together total $9,100,000, she said, and about $5,100,000 of that amount will come as principal forgiveness that reduces the debt burden on customers. On the sanitary side, she said the city applied for multiple clean-water loans and submitted an application under the Inflation Reduction Act that could return “just over $3,000,000” for wastewater-treatment plant energy-efficiency upgrades completed during recent improvements.
The sanitary sewer utility has requested two new positions to respond to increased operational demands following a roughly $65,000,000 plant upgrade, Tina said, adding that additional salaries and benefits would be offset by reductions in overtime and contract services so “there really will be no change to our operating expenses once we have those approved.”
Council President Dickinson asked whether this is a new practice for the Board of Public Works to see this material and whether the Board will be asked to review position requests before the council; Tina said she plans to present annually and to bring new positions to the Board for preliminary review prior to the formal city budget process.
A motion to approve the utilities’ operating budget was called and the chair announced the motion passed; the transcript records one member voting “no,” but the exact vote tally and the names associated with each vote are not specified in the record provided.
The budget will proceed to the full city budget process next week for additional review and final adoption.
