The South Davis Sewer District adopted a $1.5 million budget during a hearing Thursday night.
Dal Wayment, district manager, said that the budget represents a 6.5 percent increase over last year's budget of $1.4 million. While the budget is growing, most of the increase is going into a reserve fund. There is no planned increase in sewer rates or taxes assessed for the district."What we are attempting to do here is tighten up our budget," Wayment said. "Our spending is down 4 percent and our contribution to reserves is up 800 percent," Wayment said of the proposed budget.
Increased revenues are expected to come from an increased number of residential customers and the slowdown in expenditures on plant expansion projects. This year the district is funding $12 million in expansion and wants to begin to save money for possible expansions in the future.
The board also approved the sale of $4.5 billion in bonds to finance a plant expansion project. The bonds have been purchased by the Utah Bureau of Water Pollution Control as part of the sewer district's use of the bureau's revolving loan fund. District officials already issued $5 million in bond anticipation note last July so the project could begin.
The construction will help the district comply with federal water pollution standards.