Commission reviews FY27 proposed water budget and launches five-year rate study

Garden Ridge’s Water Commission reviewed a proposed FY27 water budget and agreed to proceed with a five-year water-rate study to guide future rate setting.

The city manager (speaker 10) described the FY27 proposed water fund budget and said the rate programmed into the draft budget is unchanged from the prior year. The draft includes planned personnel adjustments, subscription increases, equipment purchases (lawn mower, handheld radios, a continuous chlorine monitor and a municipal well-site item) and capital for an interconnect with Vista Ridge. Staff said the fund maintains a nine-month reserve target.

The commission confirmed the city has engaged NewGen Strategies for a water-rate analysis. The city manager said staff had a kickoff with the consultants to develop a five-year rate outlook and a model for FY28 that the commission can review later in the year. "We had a kickoff meeting with the consultants for the water rate study," staff said; the target is an initial presentation in November.

Commissioners asked a few questions about line items, including a $14,000 decrease in professional services in the FY27 line item, and about how rainfall affects short-term usage trends. Staff noted that usage typically drops after rain but irrigation scheduling and resident behavior can obscure short-term effects; commissioners recommended further data review and possible resident education if drought conditions ease.

No action to adopt the budget was taken at the commission level; staff will bring the finalized proposed budget and the NewGen rate-study results to the City Council according to the city’s budget timetable.