The CFPUA Board will hold a public hearing on CFPUA’s proposed fiscal year 2024 (FY24) operating budget at its regular meeting at 9 a.m., Wednesday, June 14. A vote on the budget will follow the public hearing.
The Board meeting and public hearing will be in Rooms 138 and 139 of the New Hanover County Government Center, 230 Government Center Dr.
CFPUA’s proposed budget for FY24 totals $112.9 million. As shown in the summary below, the proposed FY24 budget is $13.7 million, or 13.9 percent, more than FY23’s $99.2 million adopted budget.
Under the proposed FY24 budget, the average residential customer’s monthly bill for combined water and sewer services would increase by $3.19, or 4.6 percent, for services delivered beginning July 1, 2023. CFPUA had anticipated that an 8.5 percent rate increase would be required to support the FY24 budget. The Board and staff have spent the last several months working to reduce the rate increase by almost half.
The rate increase is driven mainly by costs to replace CFPUA’s Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant (SSWWTP). SSWWTP was constructed more than 50 years ago, in 1972. Although it continues to meet regulations, SSWWTP is reaching the end of its useful life and must be replaced. The work will replace the existing 12 million gallons per day (MGD) treatment capacity with new infrastructure and modern treatment technology and provide an additional 4 MGD capacity for future growth for a total plant capacity of 16 MGD.
Learn more about the Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant project here.
About $7.3 million in engineering work for the SSWWTP project is beginning this year. Construction is estimated to cost $239 million and anticipated to begin in late 2024 or early 2025.
Also at the June 14 meeting, a public hearing will be held on System Development Charges (SDCs) proposed for FY24. The Board will consider approval of the FY24 SDCs following the public hearing. SDCs are one-time fees newly connecting customers pay to “buy in” to the water and sewer systems. SDCs are not part of the rates CFPUA charges for water and sewer services. Current (FY23) and proposed (FY24) SDCs are outlined in the table below:
| SDC Type | FY23 | FY24 Proposed | % Difference |
|---|
| Water | $ 2,230 | $ 2,270 | 1.8 % |
| Sewer | $ 2,160 | $ 3,290 | 52.3 % |