It is a condition of the loan-grant that the city take in over $1.3 million in revenue a year in water-utility fees, in order to meet the loan payments as well as put money aside for debt reserve and repairs. The City is currently collecting about $911,000 yearly.
Karl Pennock of Rural Community Assistance Corporation presented the rate study, with input from Alfredo Holguin of Wilson & Company engineering firm, which did the preliminary engineering study on the project.
RCAC was subcontracted by the USDA to make sure the conditions of the loan-grant monies are met, training the local government on how to budget and manage the water system in the process. Another condition of the loan-grant is to take out a bridge loan from RCAC for about $940,000, which will be folded into the USDA loan-grant if the conditions are met.
The $5.47-million loan and $3.93-million grant is to fix water pipes downtown and correct deficiencies in its chlorination system, as well as install a software system update, said Holguin.
The preliminary engineering study revealed 40 percent of the water pipes are 50 years old and are made out of asbestos cement and cast iron, both rigid and therefore subject to cracks and leaks. The cast iron pipes are also subject to “oxidation” from the chlorine, causing further leaks, Holguin said.
In 2018, Holguin said the water pipes leaked 141 million gallons or 47 percent of what was piped.
He was corrected by Water and Wastewater Department Director Jesse Cole. The City had not taken into account the “3,000 or 6,000 gallons, I don’t remember which,” Cole said, that are included in the current $8.15 base rate. Correcting that error means the system’s leakage is about 17 percent.
However, later in the meeting City Manager Morris Madrid said, “We don’t have 40-percent loss, it’s about 25 percent.”
The project will replace “22,200 linear feet or 31.2 percent of extreme risk lines,” Pennock’s report stated. A 2015 preliminary engineering study identified $25 million in needed repairs, he added.
Pennock has only been hired to look at the water utility in isolation from the other utilities. His study shows the water utility lost nearly $100,000 in fiscal-year 2013-14, made about $93,000 in 2014-15, lost nearly $830,000 in 2015-16, was in the black by $160,000 in 2016-17, lost over 256,000 in 2017-18 and lost over $63,000 in 2018-19.
Pennock’s study shows transfers out of the water fund into half a dozen other funds, with little explanation. The yearly transfers range from $273,000 to $511,000. Between 2013 and 2019, nearly $2 million was transferred out of the water fund.
“I assume the transfers are legitimate,” Pennock said, who was given the information by the City.
However, for years, the City has transferred money out of the water and other utility funds to make up deficits in the General Fund and other funds. For more information on this practice please read: “Analysis: Why the Truth or Consequences City Commission doesn’t have to be transparent.”
Each utility fund is supposed to be run as a separate business, putting the money into operations, maintenance and capital improvements, not for other purposes.
In addition, Pennock’s transfer numbers don’t match the financial statements included in the year-end audit. For example, in 2017-18, Pennock’s study shows nearly $511,000 was transferred out of the water fund, but the financial statement shows nearly $763,000 was transferred out.
During the meeting, City Manager Morris Madrid said of the rate increase, “We don’t have a choice. We have deferred maintenance for years. We have to catch up. It’s not fair to our citizens not to.”
However, neither Pennock’s study nor Madrid’s statement take into account the ongoing and past practice of misspending utility fees.