Commission approves water/sewer rate study as part of master plan; staff cites state funding compliance

Commissioners approved, as a consent-item amendment, a roughly $89,150 work-order change to add a water-and-sewer rate study to an ongoing master plan. Staff said the study will model how projected capital needs — including several upcoming sewer and pump-station upgrades — should be funded.

Public works staff explained the rate study was not in the original master-plan scope and is designed to reconcile utility fees with state revolving fund loan requirements. As the manager said in the presentation: "The rates should have been increased to cover that debt, and and they were not." Staff emphasized that state loan agreements require utilities to pay debt service from utility fees, not the general fund, and failure to correct that could give the state the contractual right to call loans.

Commissioners asked whether the consultant contract or FDOT work on a sewer relocation would drive further change orders; staff said the sewer relocation associated with the FDOT bridge project is a separate design and funding question — FDOT may perform some work under its contract, but village costs or matches could still be required. The water-and-sewer master plan is expected to be completed in February, and the rate study will inform any utility rate changes and timing.

The amendment (consent item 11c) passed 4–0 in the meeting's roll call. Staff noted this is a planning-stage expenditure intended to reduce future financial and compliance risk.