Jamestown staff recommends $100,000 from fund balance to replace aging water meters; council agrees to buy meters and hold proposed 8% water-rate increase
June 05, 2026 | Jamestown, Guilford County, North Carolina
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Jamestown staff told the council the town's meters are aging and many cannot accept required software updates; staff recommended using water and sewer fund balance to buy replacement meters now and phase additional replacements over multiple years.
Staff said the town has about 2,900 meters total and that many of the meters installed roughly between 2012 and 2014 are approaching 14 18 years of service; long-run replacement needs were described in the hundreds to low thousands depending on life-cycle assumptions. Staff estimated a one-time purchase of $100,000 would procure roughly 200 to 225 meters (unit cost discussed in session at about $450 50 each) and would not require an additional water-rate increase beyond the 8% already proposed in the rate study.
Councilors discussed the benefits of implementing an AMI portal and dashboard that would provide near-real-time consumption data and leak warnings. Staff clarified that the town cannot realize the portal's full value until a sufficient number of meters accept the new software; until then, some meters would still require manual reads and the portal would show mixed precision across the system.
Given the forecasting and meter-life concerns, councilors expressed a general consensus to budget $100,000 from the water and sewer fund balance to purchase additional meters this fiscal year while keeping the planned 8% water-rate increase (staff had recommended 7.5% rounded to 8%). Staff emphasized the $100,000 as a one-time fund-balance expense rather than an ongoing rate subsidy.
What happens next: staff will proceed with procurement planning for up to ~225 meters, continue software/portal planning and return with vendor quotes and an implementation schedule. Staff also will incorporate the purchase into the FY27 capital and fund-balance reporting so council can track procurement and the multi-year replacement schedule.
Staff said the town has about 2,900 meters total and that many of the meters installed roughly between 2012 and 2014 are approaching 14 18 years of service; long-run replacement needs were described in the hundreds to low thousands depending on life-cycle assumptions. Staff estimated a one-time purchase of $100,000 would procure roughly 200 to 225 meters (unit cost discussed in session at about $450 50 each) and would not require an additional water-rate increase beyond the 8% already proposed in the rate study.
Councilors discussed the benefits of implementing an AMI portal and dashboard that would provide near-real-time consumption data and leak warnings. Staff clarified that the town cannot realize the portal's full value until a sufficient number of meters accept the new software; until then, some meters would still require manual reads and the portal would show mixed precision across the system.
Given the forecasting and meter-life concerns, councilors expressed a general consensus to budget $100,000 from the water and sewer fund balance to purchase additional meters this fiscal year while keeping the planned 8% water-rate increase (staff had recommended 7.5% rounded to 8%). Staff emphasized the $100,000 as a one-time fund-balance expense rather than an ongoing rate subsidy.
What happens next: staff will proceed with procurement planning for up to ~225 meters, continue software/portal planning and return with vendor quotes and an implementation schedule. Staff also will incorporate the purchase into the FY27 capital and fund-balance reporting so council can track procurement and the multi-year replacement schedule.
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