MANAGER'S REPORT
09/11/24
Budget Position Report
Actual cash in the door was $103,905.24, which includes Late Fees, Investment interest, Rate Payer revenue, and new meter installation revenue. Operational expenditures total $73,921.80. So operational revenues exceeded operational expenditures by $29,983.44. There was a capital expenditure (Water System Plan) of $13,536.00. Total cash out the door was $87,457.80. So cash-in exceeded cash-out by $16,447.44.
We contributed $22,479.13 to reserves:
Out to Capital Replacement Fund: $ 15,339.00
Out to Major Repair Fund: $ 2,940.13
Out to USDA Loan Reserve: $ 4,200.00
I have included a Reconciled Budget Position Report for all funds, including beginning balances, for your information.
Treasurer’s Report: Current EOY 2023
Fund Balances:
Regular Maintenance Fund: $ 50,024.47 $ 81,720.29
Capital Replacement Fund: $ 207,902.59 $205,953.45
Major Repair Reserve: $1,083,053.03 $666,893.55
General Facilities Fund: $ 167,134.41 $162,586.55
Total Funds Available: $1,508,114.50 $1,117,154.25
2025 Budget
I have made further refinements based on continuing information. The big ticket items are in good shape, and most of the smaller items are pretty much imponderable.
2024
Revenues:
At this point in 2024 (as of August 31) we have collected $906,066. That rate projects out to an estimated annual revenue of $1,553,356, down somewhat from last month’s projection. September billing, which covers July and August, was just over $151,000. We projected, based on rates and history, revenue of $1,220,703. We should end up somewhat higher than the 2024 budget projected revenue.
Because of the transfer of payroll responsibilities from the County to the District, we discontinued use of the revenue clearing account. So 2024 regular maintenance revenues show up in the General Maintenance Income line item and as income from the 601 Revenue Clearing line item.
Expenditures:
So far in 2024 we have spent $573,208 in operating expenses. Remember, due to the lag times imposed by the process, this includes expenses up to the end of July. That puts us on track to spend $982,641 by the end of the year. We budgeted $738,762. There are a lot of line items that are over budget. Conversely, many of the bigger items are not recurring. I expect the end expenditures to be quite a bit lower than projected based on my rather simple calculations.
Capital Expenditures:
We have, so far, spent $186,430 on capital projects. There are primarily two, the water system plan, and the Well #5 pump replacement.
I expect we will finalize a vac-trailer purchase before the end of the year.
2025
Revenues:
Note that money will be transferred from reserve accounts into the Regular Maintenance Fund. All revenue and expenses find their way through this fund in one way or another. So when we make purchases from reserve funds, money has to be transferred from the reserve fund to the Regular Maintenance Fund.
In this iteration I am proposing an 8% rate increase. The percentage is based on the 2024 projection, not actual 2024 revenues. At that rate I am projecting rate payer revenues of $1,318,359.
Income from late fees and investments is estimated from history. Total actual income (excluding interfund transfers) for 2025 is projected at $1,338,759.
Expenditures:
In working up payroll expenses, I developed a spreadsheet that takes into account the salary and benefits for the new general manager as well as a 6% increase for the staff. The spreadsheet bundles the salaries and benefits. I did not get a chance to separate those numbers out. It does not affect the bottom line.
For the rest of the expenses I went through each line item and made estimates based on 2024 expenditures, taking into account usual and unusual expenses, for each line item. Using past history, I attempted to make an estimate as to which line items are likely to have significant increases, and which will have modest or no increases.
I have not included the USDA payments, as that is the one case where we record the payments directly from the reserve fund. The money for the payment is recorded in the interfund transfer section.
There are a couple of fairly major contributors to the increased expenses from 2024. One, of course, is the increase in Salaries & Wages due to the new general manager. The other is a substantial increase in Parts & Supplies. Despite a much tighter inventory control process, costs for basic parts has increased dramatically.
I am anticipating some savings in operational costs based on the acquisition of a vac-trailer, though I have not adjusted the Contractor Assisted Main Repair line item. A very large percentage of contractor assistance can be replaced by the in-house use of the vac-trailer.
Capital Expenditures:
I have included the purchase of a service truck in the 2025 budget. I was hoping to resolve that issue this year, but that is proving to be difficult. I have removed the vac-trailer from the 2024 budget because it appears we may be able to resolve that issue before the end of the year.
The money for the service truck will come out of the Capital Replacement Fund. I am proposing to take the money for the vac-trailer from the Major Repair Reserve. It isn’t a “major repair” but it will contribute to reducing major repair expenses.
The other capital projects are the reservoir access roads. That money comes from operational revenues, not reserve funds.
Interfund Transfers:
The transfers to the Capital Replacement fund are based on my Capital Asset Management spreadsheet. I have included a copy in your packets. Talk about exercising the crystal ball. The life expectancy is a method to attribute money to the asset. Money for repairs and upgrades to the asset may be drawn from this reserve fund. The cost and life expectancy of the repair or upgrade would be folded back into the calculation.
The transfers to the Major Repair Reserve are essentially determined by subtracting all the other expenses from revenues. It is very much an estimate, as I transfer whatever income is left over from expenditures each month to this reserve fund. The objective of the rate increase is to ensure that some money goes into this fund to replace any expenditures. A realistic goal for this fund is a running balance of $1.5 million. We aren’t there yet. One really major water main break would eat through that much money in a matter of a few hours. Water main breaks are not and cannot be covered by insurance.
Though this fund is labelled as Major Repair Reserve, we can use it for whatever comes up, subject to commissioner approval.
The bottom line is, as currently configured from currently available data, this budget shows $1,338,759 operational income, $820,580 operational expenses, $270,000 capital projects/acquisitions, for net operating income of $276,713.
This is a pretty slim margin.
Monthly Utility Totals Report.
August billing (Section 2) is $98,662.09.
Claims Request
There seems to be a lot of bills this month. Total claims are $30,114.50.
Water Bill Appeal
Jack Russell, 7316 Blaine Road. Mr. Russell says that the last time he had a leak it was simply forgiven. That must have been before my time.
Receipt Register
Receipts for August according to the receipt register were $109230.08.
IT Issues
Nothing major.
Capital Asset Management
See below for discussions on the replacement service truck.
Request for Public Information
We have gathered the data and sent a letter to the person requesting the information regarding the reimbursement. Once we have received the reimbursement we will deliver the information.
Payroll Report
In your packets. No major surprises.
Production Data
No big surprises.
Don’t be alarmed by the unaccounted for water. The spreadsheet does not factor in unmetered uses. Though leakage is still above what I, and the Department of Health, would like to see.
Active Projects
Several projects are in process, but seem to be going slowly as preliminary work is moving forward. There is a lot on my plate and the highest priority projects get first call on my attention.
GENERATOR INVESTIGATION
PUD has provided our peak demand, which is 147kw. In order to have a margin of safety, at least 180kw would be wise.
But they don’t seem to come in that size. The standard size is 200kw. Short of actually soliciting bids, it looks like price range is in the $115,000 to $120,000 range. That may come down in a bidding situation.
In view of some re-evaluation of our risks, I am proposing to slow walk this project for the moment. See comments on the vac-trailer.
WATER SYSTEM PLAN
It is very close, but not quite finished. I had hoped it would be submitted by now. I have learned that the one and only planner at Jerome Morrisette & Associates is struggling with serious health problems. I have been in discussions with the principal owner of the firm to see what we can do to this moved along.
It is almost a year past due.
GHC TRANSIT
No news in March. This project may drag on for some few years.
REYNVAAN EXTENSION
The signed engineering contract has been forwarded to Northwest Water Systems, Inc. The project is in their queue.
SHOP FENCE
The fire district has installed it’s container. I simply haven’t had time to get this one rolling.
ACCESS ROADS
I am working with JWM&A to update the engineering for these projects. Given how late we are in the year, these will have to wait until next year.
I may yank this project from JWM&A. They are raising a number of issues that are not germane to repaving private roads.
I will have some other observations at the meeting.
AS-BUILTS UPDATE
There is a new base map available. It looks spectacular. The next step is to do the field work to refine locations. I am hoping that will happen before Fall. I don’t have a timeline from NWS, Inc. I need to light a fire under this project.
ON-SITE CHLORINE GENERATION
In the past year the cost of chlorine has jumped from $7.10/gallon to $10.40/gallon, a 45% increase.
It may be time to take a serious look at this project.
LEAD SERVICE LINE INVENTORY
I am making good progress on this project. At this stage it is primarily data collection and entry. So far, all the data we need is in district files. This project has consumed a good deal of my time.
This project will not get done by the deadline. The timeline is just too short. I plan to submit as much of the inventory as is completed on the deadline with notes that work will continue.
CAMERAS
It has become apparent that we need additional surveillance cameras in the critical areas. I have a proposal in hand. It is a bit more expensive than I anticipated.
I am slow-walking it. We have some other substantial expenses ahead of the cameras.
ELECTRONIC LOCKS
First phase is completed.
We will work with these for awhile before I propose a second phase. So far I am very pleased.
One area of concern is access when one of the key holders is not available. There may be an instance when a commissioner needs access.
The vendor suggested keys for the commissioners. I don’t think that is practical. I am researching an outside lock box large enough to hold one of the electronic keys.
Next steps may be padlocks on the Well Site gate, the Reynvaan Booster Station Gate, and the shop site gates. The padlocks we use are pretty basic and can be defeated with a basic bolt cutter. They need to be more robust.
I am not concerned about a terrorist incident. I think our size makes us unattractive to anything sophisticated. My main concern is vandalism and theft.
No action in August.
VAC-TRAILER
A recent event has caused me to re-evaluate my priority recommendations. In the past year we have been evaluating the feasibility and costs of acquiring a generator capable of powering the main pump house.
Late last week we had a fairly major leak on Fairway Drive. The project was large enough to make it advisable to use a vac-truck, which our vendor provided.
However, their primary asset was tied up on another project, and they had to send a unit that, shall we say, is near the end of it’s useful life. The end result was a project that took longer than it should have, left considerable oil stains on the road, left a muddy mess in the community, and, possibly, compromised the sanitary integrity of the water main.
We have communicated our displeasure to the vendor. Stronger measures are not warranted. This vendor has provided a high level of service to the district over the years, often going above and beyond that which is necessary. This is a very rare problem, but caused me to evaluate our needs, risks, and vulnerabilities over the weekend. I am convinced that rethinking priorities is in order.
We have long teetered on the edge of whether or not it is advisable to acquire our own vacuum capability. Earlier in the year, with the increased cost of vac-trailers, I recommended we shelve investigating the acquisition of one.
This event has changed my thinking. We more often have need of a vac-trailer capability than a generator to power the well pumps. While an extended power outage could leave us vulnerable, we are more often vulnerable to threats to public health during line and service lateral breaks.
I am proposing that we put the investigation into a generator on hold and re-start the investigation into acquiring a vac-trailer. I have prepared a minimum specification and seek your approval to solicit bids. Acceptance of any bids must be approved by the commissioners.
It may be that we can do both the vac-trailer and a generator in the next 12 months or so, but remember we very definitely have to do something about a service truck. On the truck, I should have firm numbers on a new, suitable, truck by the time of the next meeting.
I am keeping all this verbiage in place at the moment.
As approved by the commissioners at the last meeting, I have solicited bids from three vendors. I should have those bids in hand by the time of the meeting.
I think very strongly that this is an asset we need to acquire.
REPLACEMENT SERVICE TRUCK
I have solicited bids. At this writing, I have received only one. I hope to have at least one more by the time of the meeting.
The one bid is for just shy of $69,000. I have included a copy in your packets. In view of the fact that serviceable used trucks run $50,000+, I am proposing we drop the idea of refurbishing a used truck, unless I, once again, get very lucky.
I have attempted to investigate the State Contract process. I may yet conquer it. But if I do, delivery estimates are 120 days from acceptance.
WELL #5 REPAIR
Completed project, almost. Along with installation of the new pump, the new source meter was installed. Unfortunately, there is an issue with it. Having dealt with Spaulding before, I was confident there would be. American Pump and I are working on the issue.
Hydrant Maintenance
Landscaping around the hydrants is getting done. Hydrants are also being tested. Not much painting this year.
Leak Repairs
137 Clemons Road
404 Fairway Drive
201 Deer Park
6606 Central Park Drive
4120 Aberdeen Lake Road
Rate Study
I have done considerable updating for the purposes of the Water System Plan. Sure wish my crystal ball were not so cloudy.
An assumed 5% inflation rate, which is pretty conservative for the range of products and services we use, really skates up the costs.
New Regulations
None
Newsletter
No feed back. The next one comes out in November.
Personnel
A new general manager has been hired. Exact start date has not been established.
Maintenance Activity:
See enclosed report.
Contractor Repairs/Assistance
137 Clemons Road
404 Fairway Drive
201 Deer Park
6606 Central Park Drive
4120 Aberdeen Lake Road
Training/Certifications
Mick has passed his WDM2 exam.
Kenny and I are current
Safety
We have a safety meeting every morning.
Vehicles
Vehicle #1: 2015 HD2500 Service Truck. See comments above under Capital Asset Management.
Vehicle #2: 2015 ½ Ton Pickup Truck: No Issues
Vehicle #3: 2019 ½ Ton Pickup Truck: No issues
Vehicle #4: 2008 HD3500 Service Truck: Service, Oil Cooler Leaks, Transmission Flush, Tires
Web Site
At this writing I have some catching up to do.
New Connections
Some inquiries, but no specific requests.
Long Distance Service Laterals
We have had in inquiry about a water district easement across property. The district does not have an easement in this case.
Respectfully Submitted:
Reg Hearn
General Manager