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Finance director outlines utility fund changes and three options for a street-light fee
Summary
Finance Director Ryan presented 2026 enterprise fund budgets showing increases in water and wastewater funds and proposed a new Street Light Utility Fund with three fee models to cover electricity costs; council agreed to revisit the fee discussion at a future work session.
Finance Director Ryan reviewed proposed 2026 operating budgets for the city’s enterprise funds and presented a plan to create a Street Light Utility Fund and fee.
Ryan said the Water Utility Fund’s operating budget would increase by $364,675 to $3,247,293, citing well repairs and a state-required surcharge. The Wastewater Utility operating budget was shown at $4,687,160, an increase of $1,799,374 attributed largely to the fund supporting part of a capital project with cash instead of full bonding. The Recycling Fund budget for 2026 was $449,492 (up $102,718), the Storm Water Utility Fund budget was $545,557 (down $282,780 due to completion of a large capital project), and the Solid Waste Fund was $995,054 (down $26,039).
On a new Street Light Utility Fund, Ryan said the city’s 2025 budget for street-light electricity usage was projected at $340,000. He presented three implementation models: a Flat Rate Fee applied to most utility accounts, a Tiered Flat Rate with separate residential and commercial flat fees, and Size-Based Tiering that would charge a higher fee for buildings larger than 10,000 square feet. The proposed fund as presented would not initially build a reserve for capital replacement; the General Fund would cover any year-end shortfalls and that transfer could be smaller than current General Fund support, potentially allowing levy reduction.
Council discussed the options and asked for the item to be recapped at the next work session to allow further consideration of implementation details.
