04. Staff Report - Draft 2025 Budget1
Staff Report
Date of Meeting: November 18, 2024
To: Wastewater Committee Members
From: Kyle Morell, City Administrator
Re: Draft Proposed 2025 Sewer Budgets
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The proposed 2025 sewer budgets are attached. In 2024, we worked to separate the revenues and
expenses for the Bliss and Anderson Erickson systems. This separation now shows the City with
three separate sewer funds.
Our budget discussion at our October 30, 2024, meeting led us to charge for services such as
tank pumping and after-hours call-outs. This would allow us to reduce the user fees and add a
revenue line item for service charges. We also discussed creating a seasonal rate for parcels with
a seasonal tax classification from Washington County. Staff also committed to reviewing the
expenses of the Bliss and Anderson Erickson systems.
The attached budgets accomplish these goals.
Bliss Fund
This fund has 79 users. Its total projected expenses are $127,857. Engineering Fees and Other
Professional Services have been increased to reflect the amounts actually spent. Depreciation
has been reduced to reflect only the equipment in the Bliss system.
Revenue is projected at $130,700. $20,000 comes from service charges and $110,100 from user
fees. A new seasonal charge will be $900 for the four seasonal properties in the Bliss Addition.
The remaining 75 users will be charged $1,420 per year, a reduction of $122.63 per year.
Uptown Fund
This system has nine users, two of whom are the city. Expenses are projected at $22,838. This
number does not reflect wages and benefits for Public Works staff, which have been put back
into the General Public Works fund budget to help the Uptown Fund cash flow.
Revenues are projected at $23,910. This is based on an estimated 285,000 gallons of water usage
in 2025, calculated by averaging the annual usage from 2019 – 2024. There is no proposed
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increase to the base fee, which remains at $630 per year. The rate per thousand gallons will
increase to $63.83, a 15% increase over 2024.
Anderson Erickson Fund
2024 is the first year we separated expenses for the A&E system. Total expenses are projected at
$43,616. Depreciation has been divided between the two systems. We have also added
expenses related to the pumping of residential tanks.
Revenue is projected at $50,360; $10,000 comes from service charges and $40,060 from user
fees. A new seasonal charge will be $900 for the five seasonal properties on the A&E system.
The remaining 28 users will be charged $1,270 per year, a reduction of $272.63 per year.
The Council asked that Staff meet with the users of the Bliss and Anderson Erickson systems to
explain the new billing system. I will have a draft of the letter we will send to the system users
for you to review at our meeting on Monday.