Harrisburg adopts FY20 budget, sets tax rate and funds park, water projects; staff includes water/sewer rate increase

The Town of Harrisburg Council adopted the manager's recommended FY20 budget on a voice vote and set the town tax rate at 35.5 cents per $100 valuation.

The budget, presented by the town's budget officer, funds more than $12 million in capital projects over the coming year and prioritizes two near-term, high-cost items: construction of Harrisburg Park phase one (multi-purpose fields, an amphitheater, playground and related amenities) and a proposed 1-million-gallon elevated water storage tank on Rocky River Road. Staff said those projects, along with street resurfacing and a federal sidewalk grant, make up the bulk of capital spending in the adopted plan.

On utilities, staff told the council the town buys about 95% of its water from the city of Concord and relies on a regional wastewater authority for treatment. Those outside costs have risen in recent years; according to the budget presentation, Concord and the wastewater authority each passed roughly 5% annual cost increases in recent years. To address those and the town's aging distribution system, staff recommended a water and sewer rate adjustment that the budget incorporates. The presentation described a roughly 9.5% combined rate increase for water and sewer this year, which staff said would generate about $365,000 for water and $335,000 for sewer annually and would raise the town's average combined bill from approximately $54 per month by about $5.30.

Budget officer (unnamed in the transcript) emphasized the town remains in compliance with state drinking-water standards and that daily sampling is being performed; the officer also described how the town tests any resident concern at no charge with a 24-hour turnaround for results.

Council also approved related financial policies and actions intended to smooth utility rate pressure going forward. The council reduced the water-and-sewer fund's minimum required reserve from 40% of operating expenses to 30%, a change staff said would free capital capacity and reduce near-term rate pressure while leaving the general fund reserve at 40%. Separately, council adopted a non-binding resolution that provides guidance for future water/sewer adjustments by phasing modest increases in selected years of the town's 10-year financial model to avoid infrequent double-digit hikes.

Council members questioned timing and risk in the 10-year model, staffing additions proposed in the budget (engineering, grading inspection, additional public works crew, part-time IT support) and the long-term durability of the tax rate adopted last year. Staff responded that the 10-year model uses conservative assumptions, that some projects may be delayed if revenues fall short, and that encumbrances and rollovers will be used to track multi-year projects.

The budget vote followed multiple public comments asking for clarification about water purchase arrangements (why the town purchases through Concord rather than directly from the reservoir), developer charges and business-versus-residential rate structures. Staff explained the prohibitive cost of running a direct raw-water transmission line and noted system development charge increases were proposed to recover expansion costs from new connections (staff proposed increases of roughly 5.7% for water SDCs and 10.4% for sewer SDCs).

What passed: by voice vote council approved the FY20 budget ordinance, the recommended fee schedule and pay scale, and then separately voted to set the tax rate at 35.5 cents per $100 valuation. Staff will proceed with contract approvals and capital work under the adopted budget.

Next steps: staff said final financing steps remain for Harrisburg Park and the elevated tank; council recessed one related public hearing to August 12 to finalize financing figures and to consider combining the park and tank financings for better market interest. The council also approved several project-specific motions at the same meeting, including a $35,000 change order for Veterans Plaza landscaping and wall work and multiple contract awards for transportation and stormwater planning and mapping.

The council moved into closed session at the end of the meeting for a personnel matter; no additional public action was recorded before recess.