Title
Preliminary 2024 Utility Operating Budget, Rates and General Facility Charges
Recommended Action/UAC Deliverable:
Briefing only. No action requested. Review staff's briefing on preliminary utility rates and budget for 2024.
Issue:
Review 2024 preliminary utility rates (including LOTT), operating budgets and General Facility Charges (GFC, including LOTT). Forward UAC recommendations to City Council's Finance Committee for review on October 18, 2023. The UAC will also forward their recommendations to the City Council for review during their budget deliberations in November/December.
Staff Contact:
Gary Franks, Public Works Waste ReSources Director, 360.753.8780
Jesse Barham, Public Works Water Resources Director, 360.753.8164
Mike Vessey, Public Works Drinking Water Utility Director, 360.753.8318
Presenters:
Same as above
Background and Analysis:
The Utility Advisory Committee (UAC) reviews City utility finances, rates, and general facilities charges annually. In August, staff briefed the UAC on the preliminary 2024 operating budget key drivers for the Drinking Water, Wastewater, Storm and Surface Water, and Waste ReSources utilities.
City Utilities are expected to provide uninterrupted public health services for our community. Our responsibilities include ensuring that drinking water supplies are safe and adequate quantity, sewer infrastructure safely conveys wastewater to the LOTT treatment facility, solid waste is managed for reuse or disposal, flooding is minimized, and water quality and our urban natural resources are protected. As municipal utilities meeting the needs of our community while maintaining and upgrading our increasingly aging infrastructure is the core of our mission. Utility staff focus on effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of these services.
Proposed 2024 Rate Increases:
Budget Review Committee recommendations for utility rate adjustments are not available at the time of writing this staff report but will be provided a...
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