Sioux Falls water plant expansion should be bonded thru 2nd Penny

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Sioux Falls water and sewer is funded thru enterprise funds (user fees). Those fees go towards maintenance, operation, general expansions and pipe replacements. They also go towards paying the salaries of the employees of this department (while all other city employees are paid thru the 1st penny operational fund).

While the concept of enterprise funds works well for normal operation, paying salaries and bond payments for major expansions out of this fund is what is draining the coffers and a cause for fee increases.

The 2nd Penny fund was created for road maintenance and soon got hi-jacked for all infrastructure projects. But that is what is it is for, major infrastructure like an expansion of our water and sewer plant.

This is really about allocation of tax money.

We say we need to pay down the bonds for this facility with user fees but we don’t use user fees to pay down the bonds for the Events Center, Pavilion, Zoo, Tennis Courts, Midco Aquatics and the list goes on.

It is ludicrous to have $80 million in a reserve fund for infrastructure projects while raising water rates to pay down bonds for a needed infrastructure project.

Huh?!

Why not re-finance the bonds thru the 2nd Penny fund and avoid a water rate increase? I wonder what Bloomberg thinks of that?

Posted in: Public Utilities, Public Works, SF City Council, Sioux Falls

Well this isn’t good . . . Firefighting foam in Sioux Falls drinking water

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So while it is a good thing the wells were turned off, makes you wonder how long we were drinking this crap before they found it;

Important questions about today’s PFAS contamination remain unanswered. From the date PFAS entered a private well or municipal water system to the date it was detected and mitigated, what was the effect and on whom? How many airmen and women handled and used the foam for decades without proper protection? What was the effect and where are they now?

Lubbers and Stefanich balked at addressing those questions. Bak simply stated, “You can’t really speak to what was in the past.”

Reminds me of when I warned the city about this a few years ago, and I think they changed some of the chemical mixture. But I often advise people to NOT eat the vegetables you grow in an outside garden in Sioux Falls because it is covered with dangerous mosquito spray residuals. ever notice we don’t have as many bees and beneficial insects? That’s because the mosquito spraying is killing them.

There’s a lot of chemicals our government is feeding us, that they do NOT want us to know about. Yet all the conservatives want more deregulation when it comes to the EPA. Idiots.

Posted in: Public Utilities, Public Works, Sioux Falls

City of Sioux Falls Water Treatment Plant Expansion; Lots of Questions

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Before we go off the deep end and spend $260 million for an expansion of the water treatment plant, some major unknowns need to be answered;

The city says we are at 82% Capacity. How long did it take us to get there? How many more years before we are at capacity? How long will it take to build the expansion? Can we draw this expansion out over 5-10 years, doing incremental changes?

What percentage of treatment is used for nearby towns that contract Sioux Falls to treat their water? Can we increase their rates significantly?

What is our true population growth? And how does that breakdown? How many newborns? Retirees, immigrants, new people/families? How many from neighboring towns that already use our treatment plant?

Why are we using the enterprise funds for capital improvements? Shouldn’t this be for operations and maintenance? Why not use 2nd penny funds to pay down bonds of new plant?

As you can see, we have a lot of big questions that need answers before we decide to move forward with the new plant.

Posted in: Public Utilities, Public Works, Sioux Falls

Mayor justifies $25 million dollar admin building by overcharging us on water rates

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Boy, the man can spin.

Recently the city re-financed the Lewis & Clark bonds with a supposed $25 million in interest savings. But how this was accomplished was under the guise we were paying higher water/sewer rates for infrastructure upgrades.

We have been told over the past 7-10 years that we had to increase these rates and turn them into their own fund (enterprise) so we could upgrade our aging water & sewer infrastructure.

Sounds reasonable . . . if the city was telling the truth.

They actually have been putting the money in a savings account, $25 million to be exact. In order to save the $25 million in interest for the L & C bonds we had to make a $25 million principal payment. That money came from the ‘savings’ account.

During the Listening and Learning session the mayor justifies the $25 million dollar admin building because we saved $25 million on the L & C bonds. What a stretch.

Okay, let’s break down his illogical argument;

• We never needed the $80 million dollar hookup to L & C. In fact we only get about 10% of our water from the pipe (contract requirement) while we continue to buy land for more wells. I believe all along that we bailed out L & C and if they would not have gotten the $80 million from us they would have struggled to stay afloat. How was that the responsibility of Sioux Falls taxpayers? Our genius DC reps should have stepped up, I guess they were busy trying to get $27 million for Warren Buffet.

• We were lied to about increasing water rates. We were told this was for fixing infrastructure. It was never mentioned to us at ANY TIME over past 7 years that this money was going into a savings account, let alone a savings account to pay for an administration building.

• We didn’t need an administration building. In fact it would be more fiscally responsible to continue to lease property instead of adding more capital that we have to pay off and maintain. We essentially traded a $100K a year lease payment for $1 million dollar a year mortgage payment. There is nothing in the charter that says the city needs to own it’s own office space for employees. Even our finance director said over 2 years ago it made more sense to lease. The city should also concentrate on using more technology to reduce the number of city employees. They should also work on home work spaces.

Like paying for the indoor pool with a Federal levee bond repayment the mayor has justified an unneeded city building by overcharging us on water rates.

Always on the spin cycle.

 

Posted in: Mayor High Crimes, Mayor Hubris, Mayor Pants on Fire, Mayor Subprime Mike Huether, Mike Huether, Public Utilities, Public Works, Sioux Falls

$55 dollar water/sewer bill for a trailer home?

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Something ain’t right in the trailer park.

As we first reported Tuesday, the companies managing some mobile home communities are getting rid of individual water bills.
This means everyone pays the same amount, no matter how many people live in their household — a policy that has many people mad.
We spoke to Regional Manager Lynn Granata Wednesday. She sent us February’s water and sewer bill.
It was $8,329.27. Divide that by the number of mobile homes in the Pine Meadows Park and it equals the $55 flat rate neighbors are being charged. She says they’re not overcharging.
Why not just replace the meters? My water bill has never been higher then $14 a month. My highest was $25 before I fixed my leaky toilet. The thing that irks me the most about this is the way affordable housing slum lords screw over their tenants, and not because they are making a little extra money on the side (because as mentioned in the story that is illegal) but by being too cheap to fix an obvious problem with the water meter(s). If someone is renting from you, and paying their rent, you have an obligation to repair things that need to be fixed instead passing those maintenance costs onto your tenants.
Posted in: Public Utilities, Watermelon