Tulare Board of Public Utilities reviews preliminary FY27 utility budgets; water fund to use reserves

The City of Tulare Board of Public Utilities heard a presentation on the second preliminary municipal utility budget for fiscal year 2027 and was told the water fund will require use of reserves while the solid-waste and wastewater funds are projected to show modest surpluses.

Presenter (speaker 3) said the solid-waste and street-sweeping fund has expected FY27 revenue of about $15.1 million and projected expenditures of roughly $14.4 million, yielding an estimated surplus of about $625,000. The wastewater fund’s expected revenue was presented at about $30.6 million — a roughly $1.6 million decrease from the prior year — with expenditures near $29.5 million; the presenter said that fund’s surplus is down year over year. “A lot of the work that was done within the past month was within the salary and benefits portion of all the enterprise funds,” the presenter said, describing corrections after the new financial system misallocated employee costs.

Agency official (speaker 5) explained the reduction in wastewater revenue was primarily driven by large industrial customers increasing their efficiency and producing less waste. “I cut the fuel cell revenue in half because we’ve been having the issues with the BVF and the high H2S,” the agency official said, adding staff also reduced some industrial service‑revenue estimates.

Board members asked for the presentation slides and detailed backup. Presenter (speaker 3) offered to email the packet; staff also outlined next steps: a proposed budget will be presented at the board’s next meeting for review and the city council is scheduled to consider budget adoption in early June.

The presentation also outlined personnel and fleet changes included in the preliminary totals: several reclassifications and two new water positions, replacement equipment and a few vehicle purchases tied to new positions. Staff noted upcoming retirements and negotiated salary step increases as near-term cost drivers.

The board did not take formal action on the budget at this meeting; staff asked for any direction to incorporate into refinements before the next session.