Residents object as Gunnison proposes transfers from water and sewer funds and a meter replacement surcharge

City staff presented a draft budget item proposing transfers from enterprise funds into the general fund—$245,000 from water and $300,000 from sewer—to help cover general city services. Staff explained state code requires a public hearing when enterprise funds are tapped for general operations.

Residents and several commenters said those utility funds were collected for specific purposes and warned that shifting dedicated utility dollars to the general fund risks underfunding infrastructure. Steve Carter, who addressed the council during the enterprise-fund hearing, said: “If you have extra money, use it for what it was told us you’re going to use it for—the sewer fund. I won’t move it to the general fund. That’s not what he told us it was for.”

Meter reserve and maintenance-fee concerns: multiple residents challenged a proposed irrigation-meter replacement reserve that would add roughly $9 per month to certain customers’ bills (described in the draft as spreading $750,000 in meter costs over a 10-year plan). Jeff Kaplan said the maintenance line on his utility bill rose from $12.94 to $21.94 and called a near-70% jump “outrageous” for those on fixed incomes; Leanne Karen said total monthly utility charges have grown and that residents lacked advance notice and transparent explanations.

Next steps: the council opened and then closed the public hearing on enterprise transfers after listening to comments; council members acknowledged concerns and discussed posting clearer budget materials on the city website for resident review. No transfer was finalized at the meeting.