It's been a rough fiscal year throughout the state, as cities and local governments have continued to grapple with California's budget woes and the town of Discovery Bay is no exception.
But as the Community Services District (CSD) prepares its 2008-09 fiscal lighting and landscaping, along with its sewer and water budgets, Town Manager Virgil Koehne says the community remains in good financial shape.
I feel very comfortable with what we have, said Koehne of the budget reports he presented to the CSD Board at the May 21 meeting. I've been trying very hard to stay ahead of the curve. Of course there are concerns over the California budget and economy, and we might have to reassess our needs at some point. But overall I think we've done a good job.
The fiscal budget banks of Discovery Bay are divided into two categories: sewer and water; lighting and landscaping. Each designation has its own financial funding sources and its dollars are kept separate.
Based on current figures, Koehne says there is roughly $500,000 in the town's lighting and landscaping coffers for the coming year, and close to $4 million in the sewer and water account. There is also $6.5 million in the rainy-day reserves account.
Plans for the coming year for the sewer and water districts include a few big-ticket expenditures, says Koehne, such as the purchase of a new $250,000 diesel truck to be used for cleaning out the sewer and water lines, the drilling of a new production backup well expected to cost in the neighborhood of $6 million (spread out over the course of a few years), the rehabilitation of one production well at a cost of $150,000 to $200,000, and the continuation of the water metering installation program over the next year at $200,000.
In other sewer and water news, Koehne expects that Discovery Bay will be faced with one or more EPA-mandated upgrades that might cost $6-8 million over the next few years.
Every five years or so the EPA reassesses what is going on with our water, what pollutants or chemicals we may have, said Koehne. And I expect, just as a matter of course, that we will have to do some possible studies to determine if that is an issue. Studies could cost anywhere from $30,000 to $70,000, depending upon the nature of the study. But we are spending the public's money and I want to make sure that we're spending it the right way, so we will
be very cautious.
Wetlands trials (studies Koehne is in process of conducting to help determine the extent and nature of certain pharmaceuticals in the water) are expected to render a price tag of $150,000 to $200,000.
We are hoping for good results from the scientists we have on the wetlands study, said Koehne. This is something that is very important for our future and the future of our water. We expect some results later this year.
In contrast, plans for the lighting and landscaping districts are strictly status quo this year, said Koehne. We have some smaller areas that are in line for some beautification, but the bigger thing are the levees. We have to stop planting on the levees because it is possible that by planting on them, they begin to weaken. So we will be exploring that situation this year and see what develops.
All and all, said Koehne, Discovery Bay residents can expect good things in the coming year as the CSD board continues to work in the interests of the community.
Our job is economic accountability and we want to do what's best for Discovery Bay, said Koehne. I'm a rate payer like everyone else here, so we all have the best interests of the community at heart.
The final 2008-09 budget is expected to go before the CSD for approval over the next few weeks.
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