Published: May 22, 2008 01:14 am            

City to look at utility rate increase

City commissioners are looking at utility rate increases after finishing discussions Wednesday on a fiscal year 2008-09 city budget that includes nearly $113 million in spending.

The budget blueprint anticipates just more than $107 million in revenue, with the deficit to be made up by individual departments dipping into fund balances to make ends meet. Expenditures include a $3.6 million debt payment on 1978 water bonds.

Revenue projections for next fiscal year are based on conservative estimates, said Finance Director Jerald Gilbert. Mayor John Criner said last year Gilbert estimated an increase of 3 percent in revenue for fiscal year 2007-08, and the increase actually was 5 percent.

Ward 5 Commissioner Daron Rudy said the budget limits the commission’s ability to spend, and if that trend continues the city eventually will lose purchasing power as prices increase over time.

Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the budget June 3 before final approval. Also during that meeting they will discuss utility rate hikes. Rates last were increased in 2006 when the city raised water, stormwater and sewer improvement fees.

Costs continued to increase for the city, said City Manager Eric Benson, as they are for everyone. For the city to maintain services, it needs additional income, he said.

When Enid city commissioners ended discussion on the budget Tuesday they were wondering how to cut an ap-proximate $10 million deficit. The largest part of the disparity between revenues and expenditures was from the Enid Municipal Authority budget, which showed an approximate $7.4 million deficit. EMA was created as a mechanism for the city to issue long-term debt for infrastructure needs.

By the start of Wednesday’s meeting, commissioners had been presented a revised budget by Benson that showed revenue of about $105 million and expenses of about $109 million for next fiscal year.

More changes came during Wednesday’s meeting to reach the final figures. City staff members identified $9.5 million in savings from the capital improvement fund for commissioners to discuss, but many of the proposed cuts were left in the budget and deemed necessary by the commission.

The primary cut made was elimination of most of the water meter replacement and upgrading funding. The original sum was $7 million, but city staff determined the project could not be done in one year. Instead, $2 million was included, and the project will be done in phases. City staff has estimated an approximate 20 percent loss of water revenue annually due to faulty meters.

Other cuts to the capital improvement fund were $80,000 for replacing windows in the administration building; $600,000 for water well field improvements; $450,000 for elevated tank construction right of way; $450,000 for arterial sidewalks; $110,000 for the Boggy Creek basin project; $300,000 for Crosslin basin right of way; and $100,000 of an $800,000 Enid Police De-partment project to remodel the lobby. The portion removed was for Americans with Disa-bilities Act compliance. A number of ADA funds were taken from the budget, but City At-torney Carol Lahman said the projects would be done due to an ADA lawsuit the city faces. Funding can come from the city’s sinking fund, she said, which is paid by property taxes.

Several groups funding by the city — including Main Street Enid, PEGASYS and Leonardo’s Discovery Ware-house — were held at the same level of funding as last year. PEGASYS and Main Street suffered large cuts last year.

Criner said after the meeting the city is in a good position.

“I’m glad to see us put things back that we needed. It’s very necessary to continue to look forward instead of backward,” he said.