Broomfield officials consider 50% increase in utility rates to maintain aging infrastructure

Broomfield officials say they must decide whether to raise utility rates for all residents by about 50 percent to maintain aging water, sewer and stormwater infrastructure.

City staff are proposing to raise utility rates by nearly $40 per month on residents’ bills to fund a backlog of repairs. The increases would bring a resident’s total estimated monthly bill to $119.90 and would be split between water, sewer and stormwater services.

City and County Manager Jennifer Hoffman said at a meeting Tuesday that Broomfield was built in a way that “did not have the future in mind.”

“We thought things were going to continue to be really great for a long time … and then we hit the recession,” Hoffman said of Broomfield’s initial rapid growth.

In 2008, Hoffman said the recession should have been an opportunity for government officials to plan for the future. Instead, Broomfield continued to grow faster.

“Tonight is about an ideology that served Broomfield well for decades — until it didn’t,” Hoffman said.

Graham Clark, interim chief financial officer, said Broomfield has long had the lowest water prices in the Front Range. The price was lower because workers weren’t working on infrastructure.

“It’s not an enviable situation because it just shows that we haven’t taken care of what we have,” Clark said.

Ken Rutt, Broomfield’s public works director, said the ideology of focusing on new development leaves repairs and maintenance of essential infrastructure on the back burner.

“We cannot underestimate or overestimate the need to invest in our public service infrastructure,” Rutt said. “Without immediate action, Broomfield’s aging infrastructure will continue to deteriorate.”

Rutt said that in 2004, former council members chose not to create a separate stormwater fund and instead took money from the general fund and sewer funds for stormwater needs. He added that the majority of Broomfield’s stormwater ponds no longer require maintenance.

“We currently have identified 52 water quality ponds throughout our community and over 116 retention ponds without funding to maintain them,” Rutt said.

As an example, Rutt said it would cost the city and county $35,000 to maintain and remove cattails from a single pond in the Anthem neighborhood. Maintaining a pond through dredging costs between $50 and $300 per cubic foot of water, with dredging a single pond estimated to cost more than $225,000, he said.

Rutt said Broomfield has $3.428 billion in infrastructure just for water services. That infrastructure includes drinking water, wastewater and water reclamation systems, all of which must be maintained quickly or Broomfield could face a litany of risks, including inadequate water supply and pressure for fire protection and increased contamination events that could have adverse public health consequences, he said.

To avoid those risks, Rutt said his staff is recommending increased investment in sewer infrastructure of $6 million to $8 million per year to reduce the $23 million maintenance backlog.

The council has asked government officials to advance a proposal to increase the monthly fee on utility bills. A proposed ordinance to increase the monthly fee is expected to be discussed in October.