Palm Coast outlines $92M utility program, $590M capital forecast for water and wastewater

The city’s water and wastewater utility program projects roughly $92 million in revenue next fiscal year, Director Brian Roche told council during the July 28 workshop, a rise of about 8–9 percent driven by a recent rate adjustment and growth. Roche said operating expenses (O&M) are about $44.319 million, leaving net revenues that can be used for capital and repair-and-replacement (R&R) transfers.

Roche outlined a multi-year capital forecast of about $590 million and described the city's current R&R approach: a 5 percent baseline required by bond documents plus a council-directed additional transfer that together currently approach roughly 17.5 percent of revenues, though Roche said long-term targets closer to 25–30 percent are more consistent with matching depreciation. He also highlighted major operating cost drivers — electricity and chemicals — and warned that sludge-hauling costs have risen and remain a sector-wide challenge.

The director proposed adding technical and procurement positions to manage the capital program and emphasized improving project delivery capacity in procurement, engineering and contractor coordination. Roche said, "When you got a massive capital delivery program like this, we definitely need that" and urged council to support staffing and process improvements to ensure projects move efficiently from design to construction.