The Board of Public Works, which oversees the operation of Trenton Municipal Utilities, approved a 2007-08 budget of during its meeting on Tuesday night.
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The budget anticipates over $10 million in revenue with $1.9 million in capital expenditures. Included are a 3 percent cost-of-living wage increase for all TMU employees as well as some merit increases for individual employees included by the board.
TMU Director Chad Davis said three electric rate increases last year have helped to stabilize funding in the electric department. The department lost $650,000 last year and is projected to have a surplus of $250,000 at the end of the current year, which is the end of this month. Next year’s budget projects a surplus of approximately $184,000.
Purchased power costs, which fluctuated greatly for all utilities last year, should be more stable this year, according to Davis. He said the Missouri Public Energy Pool (MOPEP), of which TMU is a member and purchases its electricity, projects wholesale power costs for 2007 and the following few years to remain fairly stable. He said the utility does not anticipate any rate increases in the electric or water departments next year.
Davis said profits realized in the electric department will be used to rebuild cash reserves and regularly scheduled maintenance and improvements to the electric generation equipment are included in the budget.
The TMU water department budget for 2007-08 shows a profit of a little over $100,000 after an approximately $100,000 profit for this year. Improvements to the water distribution system are made each year and $250,000 is budgeted for those improvements next year. The areas in which those improvements will be made are still being determined, but a portion of those funds have been earmarked for improvements in conjunction with the construction of the new allied health building at North Central Missouri College.
Other capital outlays included are a study of the water treatment plant to meet new treatment regulations, disinfection of byproducts, a long-term sludge solution and a backup power supply for the treatment plant.
The wastewater department is anticipating a $195,000 surplus in its operating budget for the next year, not including costs associated with the improvements to the wastewater plant.
The approximately $8 million project to improve the wastewater plant could begin in early 2008, after Trenton voters approved a bond issue last fall. Davis said the utility is working to finalize preliminary design of the project to be submitted to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. It is hoped a construction permit can be obtained by Sept. 1 with a bond closing in November.
A wastewater rate increase of up to 75 percent will be coming to pay for the needed improvements at the plant, but they are not included in next year’s budget. Davis said the rate increases would be phased in as costs are incurred with the project and he noted lower costs would occur first in the project. A public hearing will be held as a part of the rate increase for the project.
The improvements will improve the sewage treatment plant’s operation and help the utility meet new DNR requirements for wastewater treatment. According to Davis, the utility’s new permit granted in 2005 required new treatment levels for oil and grease as well as ammonia and allowed a three-year period for compliance. Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency is still considering whether or not the utility will be required to disinfect the discharge from the plant into Muddy Creek. He said the utility is not planning to install the disinfection equipment with this upgrade, but the facility will be designed to install the equipment if disinfection is required at a later date.
He added the plant will have sludge treatment handling and capacity, which it has never had before, with the planned improvements.
According to Davis, the wastewater budget also includes a capital outlay of $600,000 for collection system improvements in the northwest part of the city. Those improvements will cause the budget to become deficit and the shortfall will be made up from reserves the department has accumulated. The area has needed attention for some time and Davis said the board felt now was the time to complete the project.
He said the collection system in the area is in bad shape physically and includes two crossings of the railway. He noted the project would improve wastewater system operations and reduce the potential for continued problems in that area.
The budget will now go to the city council for its approval at a meeting on Monday evening.