Cave Creek staff outline budget pressures: staffing, electricity, wells, AMI meter rollout and possible sale

Sean (staff member) told the committee that staffing is the largest operating expense and electricity is the second‑largest cost for utility operations. He said the tentative budget includes ‘over a million dollars’ to rehabilitate three wells and that consultant Black & Beach is preparing pump and motor sizing and cost estimates.

On metering, staff said the 2025 meter changeout and AMI work have produced clean usage data for about 60% of Cave Creek customers and that a new collector site could increase AMI coverage before the fiscal year’s end, aiding rate modeling. Ryan, who works on metering, described ways to reduce non‑revenue water (ADWR reporting) including leak detection, reduced plant backwash and newer filtration/Nodez technology for flushing recovery.

Staff also reported the town is preparing an invitation for bids to test interest from private water utilities; an RFP was targeted for mid‑June with a roughly 60‑day response window and a fall council briefing. Staff cautioned the town’s intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) — for example with Phoenix — may limit transfer rights and that any sale would require agreement from outside parties in some contracts.

Employee turnover was raised: staff noted recent supervisor departures (including Nick Larson’s move to Carefree Water) and said uncertainty over potential sale has depressed morale.

What’s next: Staff will return with more detailed budget assumptions once the Bureau of Reclamation allocation is known and after providing the committee with usage‑by‑block data and updated AMI coverage.