But five-year outlook includes capital expenses, rate hikes
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
In spite of uncertainty regarding mandated changes and potential capital projects, the City of Burlington Common Council got a relatively cheery financial outlook from consultant Ehlers and Associates Tuesday night.
In a two-hour workshop designed to brief the council on a proposed five-year financial plan, Jim Mann and Jon Cameron of Ehlers, reassured the council that the city was solid heading into the future.
“You’re actually in a pretty good financial position,” explained Mann, who handled half of the presentation. Cameron briefed the council on proposed changes to the city’s sewer and water rates.
Currently, if the city assumes about $800,000 a year in new capital project debt, the tax rate for the city will remain roughly the same for the next five years, averaging between $1,800 and about $1,950 for the city portion of the tax bill for a home valued at $200,000.
That rate, however, would assume no separate, large expenditures – which would include an approved referendum to rebuild the city’s community pool.
Ehlers estimates about 38 cents per $1,000 of property value on average over the length of a loan to build the pool, while the city estimates the cost at about 46 cents.
City Treasurer Steve DeQuaker said the city’s number is higher because it is working with conservative numbers.
The other half of the equation, though, would include a rate increase for both sewer and water to fund likely infrastructure changes coming, including removing radium and possibly strontium.
The rate increase would be about 12 to 13 percent starting in 2017 for sewer, and about 5 percent for water – providing the water rate increase request is approved by the Public Service Commission in the spring of 2017.
From there, Ehlers suggests alternating 3 percent increases each year for both water and sewer, providing the city needs the funds.
City Administrator Carina Walters stressed following the workshop that Ehlers was providing an approximate direction, and that the city would continue working with them as the budget process continues.
“It’s a living, breathing document,” said Walters. Mann said earlier the document would help the city develop a budget surplus of about $500,000 a year, and that letting the fund balance get too large would be detrimental – if only because taxpayers would be opposed to the city savings building up with the taxpayers providing that money.
The city budget workshop will start later this month, with three sessions scheduled.
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