Hillsboro, OR — June 14, 2004—
The Clean Water Services' Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, June 22 to consider the 2004-2005 budget that would increase sewer rates by 3.5 percent and fund more than $46.3 million of capital infrastructure to improve and protect water quality in the Tualatin River Watershed. On May 7, Clean Water Services' Budget Committee unanimously recommended the proposed budget to the Board for adoption.
The Board will meet to consider the 2004-2005 fiscal year proposed budget during their regular meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 22 in the Shirley Huffman Auditorium at the Public Services Building, 155 N. First Avenue in Hillsboro.
Clean Water Services' proposed 3.5 percent sanitary sewer rate increase would be effective July 1, 2004. The increase is about 90 cents per month for the average residential customer, which will increase the charge from $25.83 to about $26.73 per month. There is no proposed increase for the Surface Water Management (SWM) fee, which has remained at $4.00 per month for residential customers since 1998.
The modest increase is necessary to meet increasing federal water quality requirements, pay debt service on bonds issued for the upgrade and expansion of Clean Water Services’ four wastewater treatment facilities, and sustain the health and vitality of the Tualatin River Watershed.
Clean Water Services will take advantage of its strong credit rating to issue $55 million in bonds in Fiscal Year 2004-05 for the expansion and upgrade of its facilities. The bond issue will help spread out the cost of capital improvements and avoid large rate increases in the future. One of the nation’s largest credit rating agencies upgraded Clean Water Services’ bond ratings in 2001 in recognition of the District’s conservative financial policies and aggressive cost savings and operating efficiencies.
“Despite a growing customer base and increased service demands, we have been able to hold rates down by utilizing new technologies, centralizing our facilities and significantly reducing our workforce,” said General Manager Bill Gaffi. “The savings have allowed us to invest nearly $154 million in the system while keeping rate increases to a minimum over the last five years.”
Clean Water Services customer base has grown from 385,000 in 1997 to 473,000 today. During the same period, District staffing levels have decreased from 366 to 293.
To ensure new construction pays its fair share of capital costs related to growth, the District is also recommending a $100 increase in the one-time System Development Charge (SDC) for new connections. The sanitary sewer SDC would increase from $2,400 to $2,500 per connection. This is just the second increase in these fees since 1998. The surface water management SDC remains unchanged at $500 per new connection, bringing the total SDC charges to $3,000.
Clean Water Services' total budget is $114.2 million and includes $34.1 million in operating expenses; $46.3 million in capital investments; $28.5 million in debt service on outstanding bonds; and $4.1 million in capitalized staff costs. With this budget, operating expenses will decrease 4.5 percent while total expenditures will increase 9.5 percent as a result of increased investment in capital infrastructure.
The sanitary sewer capital budget includes $34.8 million in improvements to meet new state and federal treatment and conveyance capacity requirements. Major sanitary sewer capital projects include:
- $5.9 million of improvements to the Durham Wastewater Treatment Plant in Tigard;
- $5.5 million of improvements to the Rock Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in Hillsboro;
- $2.4 million in upgrades and replacements to the sewage collection system;
- $2.2 million to replace the 25-million-gallon-a-day Lower Tualatin Pump Station and force main;
- $1.3 million for construction of the River Road trunk and pump station.
The capital budget also identifies $3.9 million of investments in the public drainage system to manage flooding and protect and improve water quality and fish habitat in the Tualatin River and its urban tributaries.
Clean Water Services is the sanitary sewer and surface water management utility for more than 470,000 people in urban Washington County and small portions of Multnomah County, Clackamas County, Lake Oswego, and Portland. Clean Water Services operates four wastewater treatment plants, constructs and maintains flood management and water quality projects and manages flow in the Tualatin River to improve water quality and protect fish habitat. Although Clean Water Services maintains a close working relationship with Washington County government, it is a separately managed and financed public utility.