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Council hears plan for proactive sewer‑collection division funded from utilities
Summary
Staff proposed creating a sewer‑collection division with one new employee funded from stormwater and one from wastewater to allow proactive jetting, camera inspections and maintenance rather than reactive fixes; the change follows a stormwater-rate shift to impervious-surface billing.
Staff told the council they plan to fund one new collection employee from the stormwater utility and one from wastewater to create a sewer‑collection division focused on proactive jetting, video inspections and maintenance.
Ryan explained that last year's switch from a flat $2/month stormwater fee to an impervious-surface billing method increased revenues and allowed the city to fund additional maintenance work. "We went from a flat rate…to billing based on your impervious surface," he said, adding that the new revenue stream has enabled the city to consider staffing focused on proactive maintenance instead of reactive repairs.
Street Superintendent Michael Pentecost (speaker 12) said the division would begin jetting and videoing priority areas and that his team would add staff over time as budgets allow. Council members said proactive maintenance could prevent backups and reduce emergency repairs in older parts of town; one councilor noted a personal sewer backup experience as context for the need.
