2018-03-26-AC-ATM-rpt - Laserfiche WebLink

Browse Search

APPROPRIATION COMMITTEE-ATM 2018 Present Description Funding Funding Comments Recommendation Request Source (Brown Book page (For-Against) numbers provided for reference) o)Application Implementation $390,000 Free Cash p. XI-25 Approve (9-0) p)Network Core Equipment Re- $350,000 Free Cash p. XI-25 Approve (9-0) placement q)Public Safety Radio Console Re- $370,000 Free Cash p. XI-21 Approve (9-0) placement * Amount that was to be requested prior to decision to defer. Article 17: Appropriate for Water System Improvements Funds Requested Funding Source Committee Recommendation $1,000,000 Water EF debt Approve (9-0) This article addresses proposed capital expenditures to be made during FY2019 as part of a continuing program to upgrade and maintain the assets of the Water Enterprise Fund. For general background on the enterprise funds, and the relationship between the budget process and the water rate setting process, please see Appendix B and the discussion under Article 5. A total of$1,000,000 is requested this year to replace unlined or inadequate water mains and deteriorated service connections and to eliminate dead ends in water mains. The details of the projects can be found in the Brown Book(p. XI-12). The costs of this year's system improvements will be funded entirely via bor- rowing. Unlike recent years, due to a variety of factors, there are no retained earnings available to fund capital projects. The resulting debt service costs will be borne by the operating budget for the Water En- terprise Fund in FY2019 and for an additional ten years until the debt is retired (see Brown Book, p. XI- 12, Table II), and will be included each year as a component of the water rates. Capital appropriations for similar purposes have been made in most years over the last decade (except for FY2006 and FY2012, when engineering studies were not ready). The goal is to assure dependable service with high water quality, pressure, and volume for domestic needs, commercial needs, and fire protection, as well as minimization of water main breaks. With the recent completion of the pipe replacement project on Massachusetts Avenue from Pleasant Street to Marrett Road, the Town's long-term program for re- placing unlined water mains is nearing completion. A model to identify areas of vulnerability and those areas with low volumes and pressures, and to develop a new long-term capital plan for meeting future maintenance needs of the system is nearly complete and will guide future work. Prior to FY2006, capital expenditures for water distribution and related improvements were funded by a combination of enterprise fund cash capital, which was raised in the rates, and borrowing. Subsequently, there was a transition to funding these ongoing improvements exclusively with debt. While the transition to debt financing in the enterprise funds mitigated the need for rate increases early on, that change, to- gether with the fund's allocated contribution to the debt service for the new DPW facility, steadily in- creased the annual debt service costs of the Water Enterprise Fund, both in dollar and percentage terms, as illustrated below. 40