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Henderson council reviews water and sewer budgets after data loss; mayor pushes back on Franklin County rate claims
Summary
At a May 12 budget work session, Henderson officials said a recent cyberattack destroyed historical files used to build budgets but did not change line‑item numbers; council discussed a 7% water rate increase, Sandy Creek fines, and disputed claims about Franklin County billing.
Henderson City Council reviewed enterprise fund budgets on May 12, focusing on water and sewer operations and the effects of a recent cyberattack that erased historical data and templates used to prepare the budget. Mayor Melissa Elliott and Finance Director Joey Fuqua emphasized that the attack affected records and administrative systems, not the numerical line items staff used to set the proposed budget.
"The cyberattack did not affect the numerical values used in the budget. Instead, it destroyed historical data, templates, spreadsheets, and system files," Finance Director Joey Fuqua said, explaining that staff and outside consultants reconstructed clean prior data to enable accurate budget preparation.
The discussion centered on several concrete cost drivers. Fuqua said Henderson's customer water rate rose 7 percent for the current period; he cited a FY25 wholesale rate of $522.98 per million gallons and a capacity charge of $247,540 under the Stantec model. Assistant City Manager Christy Lipscomb said radio meter replacements are about 66–67 percent complete and that Water Distribution requested a three‑person valve crew, which raised the department's salary line.
Sewer operations also factored into the session. Lipscomb told the council the sewer budget includes a third lab position to allow overlap and training ahead of retirements and an additional maintenance position tied to internal staff movement. Staff reduced the biosolids line from $200,000 to $150,000 and will monitor spending as operations continue.
Lipscomb flagged ongoing problems at the Sandy Creek system, including force‑main and lift‑station issues, that have driven up fines and penalties. She said the City has state funding to address infrastructure as part of a "find‑and‑fix" project but cautioned that future development could raise demand and costs.
Councilmembers pressed for detail on regional billing. Lipscomb and Fuqua described the Franklin County billing formula as tied to capacity and usage under the current contract: when Henderson raises rates, Franklin County's contract price moves by the same percentage. Fuqua agreed to retrieve the specific billing formula for verification after questions from Councilmember Geraldine Champion and Councilmember Garry Daeke.
Mayor Elliott raised a separate concern about public misinformation linked to recent EDC developments: she said claims that "the City of Henderson charges Franklin County four times the water rate" are inaccurate. "That claim is untrue and harmful," Elliott said, urging accurate public information while noting Franklin County also uses an emergency Raleigh connection to supplement its supply.
No formal budget votes were taken at the work session. Councilmembers asked staff for additional supporting documents, including water, sewer and regional water revenue sheets, and Fuqua said staff would provide them for further review. The meeting adjourned following a unanimous motion to end the session.
