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Council holds hearings on internal utility charges and enterprise-to-general-fund franchise transfers
Summary
Council held required public hearings and accepted staff presentations that explained why the city plans not to charge itself for certain utility use (water, sewer, storm drain) and described annual franchise-like transfers from enterprise funds into the general fund (amounts and percentages disclosed). No public comments were received.
The council held required public hearings to inform residents about (1) the city’s intent not to charge itself for utility use during FY2027 and (2) proposed franchise-fee-style transfers from enterprise funds to the general fund.
Peter explained that state law requires an annual public hearing if the city does not charge itself for utilities used by city operations. He gave staff estimates of the non-charge services: "Water fund up to $63,000, sewer fund up to $12,200, and storm drain fund up to $17,600," and described the accounting rationale for continuing the practice.
Staff also described franchise-fee transfers from enterprise funds to the general fund for FY2027: $78,000 from water, $72,000 from sewer, $37,761 from storm drain, and $32,610 from garbage, with associated percentages of each enterprise fund reported. Peter said this approach is common among cities in the state and that the transfers are accounted for as separate business funds.
Both hearings were opened and closed with no public speakers. Council took no separate motion on the internal-charges hearing (the item was informational); the franchise-fee schedule was presented as part of the FY2027 budget discussions.
