Greeley utility managers outline lower water and sewer rate targets, stormwater tradeoffs and unresolved Public Works cuts

Greeley public works and utility leaders told City Council on Tuesday they are aiming to hold proposed 2027 water and sewer increases below earlier forecasts while delaying capital work, and they still have about a $255,000 gap to close in Public Works reductions. The work-session update on Item 6 also laid out stormwater tradeoffs tied to downtown flood-mitigation work, where staff said keeping rates lower would mean pushing major projects further out and cutting maintenance funding.

For water and sewer, staff said they are now targeting a 4.5% water increase and a 3% sewer increase after earlier projections in the 6% to 7% range. Speaker D said those lower targets depend on delaying some capital improvement projects, postponing some new initiatives and recalibrating long-term forecasts as water use falls even while customer counts rise. The average customer would see a monthly increase of roughly $3, staff said.

Sean Chambers said the enterprise funds are fully supported by rates and fees, making declining consumption a direct budget problem. He said reduced demand is being driven by more efficient household fixtures, lower industrial use including the Kodak and Carestream shutdowns, and customers responding quickly to higher prices through advanced metering tools and conservation. "Every time we turn the rate dial, we get a response from the customer which diminishes revenue," Chambers said.

Council Member Johnny Olson said he sees another reason for lower demand in neighborhoods where residents are watering less, leaving many yards brown or weedy. In response, Chambers said the city may need to address both price stability and expectations for sustainable landscaping, while also trying to increase industrial water demand. He said Greeley has available land, available water and should be pursuing industrial development.

In stormwater, staff said downtown flood-reduction work is forcing difficult choices between accelerating major outfall projects and preserving routine rehabilitation. Speaker D said the city is trying to meet the urgency of downtown infrastructure work without moving so fast that it overloads customers or worsens disruption downtown. The budget materials presented to council described scenarios in which lower rate increases would delay the 6th/7th Street outfall and 9th and 10th street extensions for years and reduce maintenance and rehabilitation budgets by 35% to 70%.

Mayor Pro Tem Melissa McDonald asked for customer-impact comparisons similar to the city's water-rate comparisons, and Chambers noted that advisory recommendations are still ahead. He said the Water Board was set to make a budget recommendation to the city manager on Wednesday, while the Stormwater Board is expected to consider its budget recommendation Aug. 5.

For Public Works, staff said the department faces a 17% reduction target, about $2.1 million, and has identified about $1.9 million so far. Speaker D said the proposal includes removing two engineering positions, three Clean, Safe and Beautiful positions, and two Mobility Services positions through reorganization, along with savings tied to voluntary separations. He said the cuts would mean more strain on engineering staff, longer waits on project development, and reduced service frequency in some maintenance areas even as downtown remains the priority.

Staff also outlined cuts to spring cleanup, travel and training, utilities, software and snow-removal chemicals, along with a plan to shift more engineering and facilities labor costs onto capital projects. Speaker D said the city is also considering parking-fee increases and additional revenue from asphalt patching done for water and sewer work. He added that Public Works lost "about 400 years of combined knowledge" through retirements, vacancies and more than 20 voluntary separations, and said staff are still working to find the remaining savings.

McDonald asked why all Public Works engineering time cannot simply be billed to projects. A staff member identified in the meeting as Speaker C said those employees spend substantial time on coordination, inspections and resident concerns that cannot be charged directly, so the city is instead aiming to recover roughly 50% to 85% of their time through project billing.

Olson said the city should rethink how maintenance duties are divided between Public Works and recreation operations, and questioned whether projects should absorb employee benefit costs. He also asked for a clearer picture of what staffing level Public Works actually needs to serve a city of about 115,000 people, saying the department's capital planning and project estimating need to be more reliable as the city moves forward with fewer staff.