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Four rate increases of 8% each would bump monthly bills for some residents about $35 to $45 per month by Oct. 1, 2027.
Even if no one ever builds another home in Palm Coast, water and wastewater treatment facilities require $701 million in upgrades and maintenance, according to city staff. As a result, a financial consultant explained at a City Council workshop Feb. 11, the City of Palm Coast needs to increase its utility bills for residents by 32% in the next two years.
Mayor Mike Norris and City Councilman Ty Miller were clear in their support to do whatever it takes to ensure that water and wastewater utilities are sound.
“We have to fix the system,” Miller said. Although the increases to residents won’t be pleasant, “We can’t continue to operate where our water systems are not doing what you deserve.”
“We’re in a tough spot,” Norris said. But, “we can’t keep kicking the can down the road.”
Norris added that he, as well as Miller, campaigned heavily on this issue.
“My No. 1 platform was revitalizing our infrastructure,” Norris said. “We have to do it.”
The City Council will vote on the plan twice, March 4 and March 18.
TRIM THE BUDGET?
The utility rate increase would be split up into four 8% increments: on April 1, 2025; Oct. 1, 2025; Oct. 1, 2026; and Oct. 1, 2027. The total impact could be about $35 to $45 per month on a bill for a household that uses 2,500 to 4,000 gallons of water per month.
While Norris and Miller indicated they are in favor of the plan, two City Councilmen were absent: Ray Stevens and Charles Gambaro.
City Councilwoman Theresa Pontieri, meanwhile, was unconvinced by the plan. She was concerned that so much burden — $413 million of the total $701 million in utility improvements — would be bonded based on fees paid by residents, rather than more of the cost being funded by developers and the state.
“My position is that we need to trim this down even more,” she said.
Carl Cote, director of Stormwater and Engineering, responded that any “fluff” was already trimmed from the list in response to City Council’s requests in 2023. Now, if the city doesn’t pay to expand water capacity in addition to wastewater treatment capacity, the state will levy fines against the city.
In the end, it’s up to the City Council to set the policy, which Cote summed up this way: “Do we want to wait till it breaks to fix it? Or do we want to be proactive?”
CONSENT DECREE
One year ago, on Feb. 20, 2024, the City Council voted against increasing the utility rate.
Two months later, on Dec. 12, 2024, the city received from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection a letter known as the Consent Decree or Consent Order, which orders the city to increase its wastewater system’s capacity and performance.
Specifically, Wastewater Treatment Plant 1, located on Utility Drive and built in 1979, has a permitted average annual flow of 6.83 million gallons per day. In 2024, sanitary sewer overflows occurred, indicating the system is over capacity; and, some samples from the plant failed to meet parameters, indicating water quality was not satisfactory to DEP.
Therefore, DEP requires that the city complete about $270 million of upgrades to Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 by December 2028.
In addition to the City Council voting against rate increases in 2024, other attempts to fund the improvements have, so far, been unsuccessful. The city requested $46.4 million from the state last year, but got just $2 million. The city also applied for, but did not get, a $10 million grant for gravity sewer pipelining.
The state has indicated it will be less likely to fund individual cities' projects in the future, Palm Coast Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo reported.
Impact fees have already been voted to be raised. Before May 2024, new homes paid $9,435.54 in impact fees for water and wastewater. By May 1, 2027, that number will increase to $12,221.
The city’s cost of operations for the utility department is expected to increase from $38 million to $50.5 by 2029, or about 7.4% per year.
Because of increasing costs of chemicals and electricity, the average cost to treat 1,000 gallons of water has risen from $1.84 in 2019 to $2.49 in 2024, an increase of 35%.
In other city news:
‘CREATIVE WITH EFFICIENCIES’
What kind of city manager does Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri want to hire for the City of Palm Coast?
Someone who is “creative with efficiencies,” Pontieri said on Feb. 7, on WNZF’s “Free For All Friday.”
MICRO SURFACING
The city will be adding high-performance micro surfacing to over 30 residential roadways, beginning this spring, according to a city press release. The process involves the application of granite aggregate and polymerized asphalt emulsion, creating a protective layer that shields the underlying asphalt. This method increases the longevity of road surfaces while enhancing their aesthetic appeal, offering a smoother and stronger finish.
The following local residential roads will get the treatment, based on road quality data: Ballard Lane, Ballenger Lane, Baltimore Lane, Barbera Lane, Barkley Lane, Barkwood Lane, Bassett Lane, Carr Lane, Cerrudo Lane, Collins Lane, Eastgate Lane, Eastman Lane, Eastmoor Lane, Fairbank Lane, Faircastle Lane, Fairmont Lane, Lancaster Lane, Lansdowne Lane, Louisburg Lane, Louvet Lane, Post Lane, Post Oak Lane, Post Tree Lane, Postman Lane, Rosecroft Lane, Rosepetal Lane, Royal Leaf Lane, Royal Palm Lane, Royal Tern Lane, Wood Center Lane, Wood Clift Lane, and Wood Crest Lane.
Residents will be notified in advance of work beginning on their streets. Visit www.palmcoast.gov/pcprogress.
SEN. SCOTT'S REP. VISITS
In an effort to secure funding and support for utility infrastructure projects, City Council member Charles A. Gambaro Jr. organized a tour of Palm Coast’s Wastewater Treatment Plant 1 for District Director Barry Cotton, of Sen. Rick Scott’s Office.
“We’re committed to aggressively pursuing grant opportunities,” Grant said.
