Winona Councilman Provides Wastewater Utility Report
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jennifer [email protected]
Swanson said London Witte Group, a financial consultant to the town of Winona Lake, conducted a wastewater study and the objective of the study was to assess the financial health of the utility over the next five years.
He said, given there are approximately 1,325 wastewater users, and as well many Winona Lake residents who are not users of the utility, the town needs to assess the wastewater revenues and expenses for an accurate match so that an excessively high wastewater user rate does not subsidize an overall too low tax rate for non users.
Swanson said the general conclusion of London Witte’s study was that the Winona Lake collection utility is not in the red by $254,000, is not in a deficit of $521,000 for capital repairs, and the capital budget is not $1 million in the red as claimed in the past Winona Lake election campaign, Swanson said.
Swanson said a review of the last six months council minutes clearly illustrates that the $36-a-month user fee, the request of Severn Trent to conduct an asset study, and other financial issues of the utility were the product of both the clerk-treasurer’s and full council’s thoughtful debate and participation.
The overall projected financial health of the utility is a function of the amount of annual operating revenue, less the utility operating costs, the current balance in the wastewater capital accounts, and less the capital replacement costs.
Various study and projection assumptions in the four areas that effect three, five and 10-year outcomes include interest earned on account assets, increase or decrease in projected expenses, what is included in operational costs, and assumed future monthly user fees collected and assumed number of future users.
Swanson said questions that need answered are why there is a separate power purchase amounts totaling $6,947 included in the list of disbursements, the operating disbursement included a total of $92,495 of salaries and employee benefit expenses. Swanson said there needs to be validation of the amounts.
Swanson said some have expressed a continuing desire for Winona Lake to build its own treatment plant.
The proposal received in 2009 assumed a $5 million cost with a $1 million down payment from the town’s $1.8 million capital fund and a continuation of the $44 monthly user fee.
Now that the town has new information concerning collection infra-structure the town would be faced with replacing assets from a base of $800,000, not $1.8 million, Swanson said.
Swanson said the town would need to see what user fee increase it would need to fund that contingency.[[In-content Ad]]
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Swanson said London Witte Group, a financial consultant to the town of Winona Lake, conducted a wastewater study and the objective of the study was to assess the financial health of the utility over the next five years.
He said, given there are approximately 1,325 wastewater users, and as well many Winona Lake residents who are not users of the utility, the town needs to assess the wastewater revenues and expenses for an accurate match so that an excessively high wastewater user rate does not subsidize an overall too low tax rate for non users.
Swanson said the general conclusion of London Witte’s study was that the Winona Lake collection utility is not in the red by $254,000, is not in a deficit of $521,000 for capital repairs, and the capital budget is not $1 million in the red as claimed in the past Winona Lake election campaign, Swanson said.
Swanson said a review of the last six months council minutes clearly illustrates that the $36-a-month user fee, the request of Severn Trent to conduct an asset study, and other financial issues of the utility were the product of both the clerk-treasurer’s and full council’s thoughtful debate and participation.
The overall projected financial health of the utility is a function of the amount of annual operating revenue, less the utility operating costs, the current balance in the wastewater capital accounts, and less the capital replacement costs.
Various study and projection assumptions in the four areas that effect three, five and 10-year outcomes include interest earned on account assets, increase or decrease in projected expenses, what is included in operational costs, and assumed future monthly user fees collected and assumed number of future users.
Swanson said questions that need answered are why there is a separate power purchase amounts totaling $6,947 included in the list of disbursements, the operating disbursement included a total of $92,495 of salaries and employee benefit expenses. Swanson said there needs to be validation of the amounts.
Swanson said some have expressed a continuing desire for Winona Lake to build its own treatment plant.
The proposal received in 2009 assumed a $5 million cost with a $1 million down payment from the town’s $1.8 million capital fund and a continuation of the $44 monthly user fee.
Now that the town has new information concerning collection infra-structure the town would be faced with replacing assets from a base of $800,000, not $1.8 million, Swanson said.
Swanson said the town would need to see what user fee increase it would need to fund that contingency.[[In-content Ad]]
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