The town of Gilbert could potentially come back to residents for an increase in water and environmental services rates as soon as this fall.
However, Gilbert Town Council members asked staff to bring them options to push an increase until next year given the town just raised wastewater and the environmental compliance fee, increases that will take effect with bills issued on or after April 1.
That was among the topics discussed March 2 at the town’s annual financial retreat, an event that kicks off budget season for the town.
Public Works Director Jessica Marlow presented to council on utility rates, noting pressures on both the water and environmental services (trash and recycling) funds and decreasing balances that are expected to go the town’s designated fund balances.
The town will conduct a rate study on the water and environmental services fund this summer. Staff recommended a timeline that included publishing a notice of intent to increase rates on the funds in August with council action scheduled for October and increases taking effect with bills on or after Dec. 1.
Marlow said increasing the rates sooner would be better in addressing the town’s lagging fund balances, but council members, beginning with Mayor Brigette Peterson, expressed a reluctance to increase utility bills twice in one year.
Marlow readily agreed to give council options that will allow them flexibility as the members decide on a course of action.
In a related discussion on the schedule for utility rate increases, Marlow said the town is in a period of catching up from going several years between increases as well as market pressures such as inflation, volatile construction costs and increased tonnage collected during the pandemic.
Council members expressed concern that they did not want to be increasing bills annually with each rate review, but Marlow said as the town catches up on its fund balances and the markets stabilize, it could be possible to not have annual increases and that the town could look at a different schedule for reviewing rates.
No formal action is taken at town retreats. The retreats, however, offer council members a chance to give direction to staff before items come back for action.
In other topics discussed:
Gilbert will look into setting up a prepayment account with the Arizona State Retirement System, which gets better rates of return than the town can, so as to shore up pension funding for town employees;
The town also will study possibly making an additional one-time payment to the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System to get the town to 90% funded for firefighters’ pensions;
Staff recommended an expansion of pass-through fees on customers’ credit card usage from developmental services to all of the town’s lines of service;
The town will continue to study additional benefits to help recruit and retain employees, including a deferred compensation program and expanding its paid parental leave program to a paid family leave program;
Staff reviewed some capital improvement projects to meet its space needs as it initiates an assessment of the town’s space needs;
Staff also reviewed its long-term financial planning and discussed issues in the Legislature — notably repealing the food tax and residential rental taxes — that could affect the town’s revenues as it plans for the fiscal year 2023-24 budget.
Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on Twitter. We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Tom Blodgett Senior News Editor | Gilbert @sp_blodgett
Meet Tom Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.
Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.
Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism.
Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.
Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).
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