Trenton council reviews draft budget; staff propose 7.8% water-rate increase and bond-funded solar projects
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Summary
At a Trenton City Council study session, staff presented a draft budget that relies on property taxes for roughly 72% of revenue, anticipates about $1 million in state revenue reallocation losses, includes a 3% wage increase for employees, and proposes a 7.8% water-rate increase largely driven by a GLWA pass-through; a public hearing is scheduled for May 4.
The Trenton City Council reviewed a draft fiscal budget at a study session, where staff outlined revenue shifts, capital projects funded by a new bond, and a proposed 7.8% increase in the city's water rates.
The presentation, delivered by Jill, said property taxes provide about 72% of the city's total revenues and that taxable values rose roughly 2.7% for the year. She warned the city will lose about $1,000,000 in general-fund revenue because some state-shared payments have been reallocated to Act 51 transportation funding. "So between the two of those, it's about 1000000 dollar loss to our general fund," Jill said.
Why it matters: the draft relies heavily on property taxes and bond financing for capital needs. Jill told the council the budget includes a separate bond fund for capital projects, including a solar-panel installation at the library, Westfield, the wastewater treatment plant and the rink, and that the bond will create a 20-year debt-service schedule affecting multiple funds.
The presentation also included a proposed water-rate adjustment. "We are proposing a 7.8% increase for the water rate," Jill said, noting the city's current rate is $14.70 per 1,000 gallons and the recommended rate would be $15.84 per 1,000 gallons. She said about 5.63 percentage points of that increase reflect a pass-through from GLWA, with the remainder intended to cover capital projects and infrastructure.
Council members pressed staff for details on how bond payments will be allocated across funds and what portion of the solar work is covered by bond proceeds. Jill said Westfield's portion is roughly $1,000,000 and that the full breakdown is on the budget's debt-schedule page.
On infrastructure, Dean Creech stressed the need to invest in aging systems. "We had 60 plus water main breaks, last year," Creech said, adding that many of Trenton's water mains are at or near their life expectancy and that replacing them will require multi-year engineering and procurement timelines.
The council set a public hearing for May 4 and indicated it will take a vote at that meeting. The draft budget document and the debt-service schedule will be available to review in the packet ahead of the hearing.
