When it comes to Cheney’s Public Works Department budget, over half of it is in some liquid form.
Water and wastewater account for 54 percent of the department’s $7.18 million budget in 2016, with the larger portion — 36 percent — going to the latter. Tied with water at 18 percent is solid waste, thanks in part to the city’s decision to take on hauling its own municipal waste to Spokane’s Waste to Energy Plant in 2014.
When it comes to wastewater revenues, 98 percent of the $2,637,900 projected to be taken in during 2016 will come from service fees. On the other side of the ledger, 39 percent of the $2,627,700 in expenses is due to operation and maintenance, with salaries and benefits at 33 percent and debt service at 27 percent.
The latter is rather large due to the expansion about five years ago of the city’s wastewater treatment plant, Public Works Director Todd Ableman told the City Council at its Oct. 27 meeting.
Service fees account for 97 percent of the solid waste division’s $1,297,100 in projected revenue, while operations and maintenance takes up 39 percent of expenses, with salaries and benefits at 33 percent and disposal fees at 28 percent.
“That’s all our own, plus recycling,” Ableman said.
In a comparison table presented to the council, Ableman said Cheney’s solid waste rate is the lowest in Spokane County at $11.88 percent for a 64-gallon container, with Medical Lake coming in at $28.69 and the city of Spokane at $28.42.
Water revenue runs virtually the same as solid waste and wastewater, with 95 percent of the projected 2016 amount of $1,278,200 coming from service fees. Operation and maintenance runs 56 percent of expenses, with salaries and benefits at 28 percent and a low debt service of 5 percent.
The Water Department faces some challenges in the coming years when it comes to its water supply, especially if the trend over the past 2-3 years of drier winters, hotter earlier springs and longer summers is an indication of the future. The city is looking at ways of increasing production with its wells along with planning and seeking funding to study ways of using re-use water for irrigation along with better stormwater management.
With regards to the former, Ableman said he was contacted by the state Department of Ecology and told they had received and were reviewing the city’s request for $70,000 in grant funding to help rehabilitation Wells 1, 2 and 5 — its main sources of water.
Finally, the city is looking at a number of projects for the coming year in its Streets Department. Transportation’s $1.133 million in revenues come from a variety of sources such as a utility tax (33 percent), grants (31 percent) and the motor vehicle excise tax (22 percent).
Five projects are listed for funding, including citywide residential sidewalk upgrades, three residential street projects and the Betz Road preservation project from State Route 904 to North Sixth Street. Three preservation projects waiting in the wings pending state Transportation Improvement Board funding are Betz Road from North Sixth to Oakland Street, Cheney-Spokane Road from SR 904 to the city limits and Simpson Parkway from SR 904 to North Sixth Street.
John McCallum can be reached at [email protected].
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