Council urges multi-year CIP planning and careful messaging on preliminary rates

Multiple councilmembers criticized the current capital-improvement-plan process for not being tied clearly to funding sources and suggested a multi-year planning approach. One councilmember recommended a goal-setting session after the next election to align council priorities with the CIP and long-term funding strategies.

Members also discussed the communications challenge of preliminary high rates showing up in public notices: one councilmember warned the preliminary figures "is gonna look bad when they publish in the paper and people are gonna flip out," and staff stressed the importance of explaining that preliminary amounts can be adjusted downward before final certification. Staff said final capacity numbers typically arrive in late September and final certification occurs in December.