Finance Committee Agenda and Packet 2025 02 20

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City Council Finance Committee Meeting Minutes January 16, 2025 Page 4 of 5 Councilmember Hamlington commented that she has no suggestions to change the calendar and expressed appreciation for staff's work on the schedule. Public Comments: Mayor Leh agreed with Councilmember Hoefner, adding that last year's budget retreat was lacking in detail for describing the paths forward and it would have been more productive with a better set of options for Council to mull over. Final 2025 Utility Rate Presentation & Discussion: The Deputy Director of Utilities provided an update on the 2025 final utility rates and fees. The presentation was included in the meeting packet. The Committee gave approval to staff to present the 2025 utility rates to City Council. Committee Comments: Councilmember Hamlington asked how much above the estimates the final numbers would be if the expansions were removed. The Deputy Director of Utilities responded that we were only slightly above the estimates without the expansions. Councilmember Hamlington asked if residents are paying for Redtail development wastewater plant upgrades. The Deputy Director of Utilities responded that the Redtail development is paying for all required upgrades related to that project. Councilmember Cooperman asked about multifamily residential in comparison to other communities. He asked if multifamily residential gets a good deal on utility rates compared to other municipalities. The Deputy Director of Utilities responded that multifamily is considered a commercial user with one meter per building which is split between renters so it's difficult for the City to see how each renter is affected. Commercial rates are relatively low and align with residential rates. There was a discussion around O&M Turnback. Councilmember Hoefner commented that Louisville's rates are very competitive compared to neighboring communities and expressed appreciation for staff's work to keep the City's rates low. He expressed a desire that the City's budget process reflect actual expectations about what is going to happen in a particular year as close as possible to estimates and he is excited to see the results of returning to a 0% turnback. Councilmember Hoefner would like to give additional thought to the fund forecast outyears from 2030 forward, noting that the forecasted estimates don't seem accurate. He asked if the outyear stormwater estimates might default to an inflation expectation estimate that is more realistic than the current negative 7% estimate for 2030. The Deputy Director of Utilities responded that there is a mechanism in the rate model that can calculate a base increase based on inflation, noting that we have kept it at zero to keep the future fund balances more accurate. The Director of Public Works commented that the stormwater fund is unique as it is typically funded around $100-200k for maintenance each year 13/60