Archive - 2009 - Financial

Monthly Financial Reports

During the monthly meeting, the financial status of the District for the preceding month is presented to the Board by the bookkeeper. Discussion is held to determine if any corrective actions are required. Financial Reports for the previous years are available on the Archives page.

The 2009 Financial Reports, by actual month, are below:

• January
• February
• March
• April
• May
• June
• July
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

Financial Audit

The District's independent auditor, Watkins & Schommer, Inc., performed an audit of our financial records for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2008. The report is available here.

Annual Budget

The District utilizes a process to develop the debt service budget and the enterprise service or operating budget that complies with the requirements of State of Colorado. There are two separate funds used to report the finances of the District. On an annual basis, the Board develops budgets for each fund. The budgets are developed, available for public review, discussed and approved in a special budget hearing that is announced in advance, and finally filed with the appropriate government entities. A summary on how each is developed and approved is described below.

2009 Budget Information

The 2009 budget information follows: 2009 Budget; 2009 Resolution to Adopt Budget; 2009 Resolution to Appropriate Sums of Money; 2009 Resolution to Set Mill Levies; 2009 Enterprise Budget Message; 2009 Debt Service Message; 2009 Letter to Boulder County Commissioners; and, 2009 Letter to Colorado Division of Local Governments.

The 2009 water rates continue to follow the underlying principles that have been followed since 2005:

1. The Connected and Non-connected Service fees should be kept as low as possible, with higher levels of water consumption having a higher marginal rate, if necessary, to meet revenue requirements.

2. The District continues to "mark-up" the water purchased from the City of Lafayette by the same rate as 2008 of $1.25 per thousand gallons, after 5000 gallons of usage.

3. A more progressive rate structure is being slowly phased in over a number of years to meet future revenue needs and promote conservation. The 2009 rate structure implements this by increasing the marginal rates at upper levels of utilization.

4. The District will support any rate changes initiated by the City of Lafayette during the year. The City of Lafayette bills water at $1.91 per thousand gallons for the first 322,000 gallons of usage.

Debt Service Fund

This fund is used to pay the interest and principal on the bonds that were issued to form the District and build the initial distribution system within the District's Service Area. The sole source of revenue used to make these payments is a mill levy included in Boulder County property tax statement. The amount that must be collected and paid each year is a function of the bond payment schedule that was established when the bonds were issued. This schedule of required payments can not be changed. No operating revenues (e.g. fees and water usage rates) are used to make bond payments.

The determination of any particular year's property tax mill levy is a straight forward process:

1. The amount that must be paid for bond interest and principal is obtained from the bond payment schedule.
2. The Boulder County Assessor's office provide a valuation of the properties that are part of the District.
3. The amount of the mill levy is calculated so that the correct bond payment amount is collected.
4. The District notifies the Boulder County Assessor's office of the mill levy that is required.
5. That mill levy is added to the property tax bill by the Assessor's office, which collects the monies as property taxes are paid, and sends the funds to the District.

The General Obligations Bonds repayment schedule provided by George K. Baum & Company is below:

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Enterprise Service Fund

This fund is used to pay for all costs associated with the operations of the District. The necessary revenue primarily comes through the sale of treated water to members of the District and, secondarily, fees associated with provided services. No property tax revenue can be used to pay any operating costs.

The operating budget process is:

1. Review of all expenses incurred during the last year to determine what is likely to be needed during the upcoming budget year.
2. An assessment of the status of the District's infrastructure and what actions may be required and associated cost estimates.
3. A determination of any new costs that were not incurred in the past year, looking at any historical data to assist in the estimation of cost.
4. Obtain the cost of purchased water for the new budget year from the City of Lafayette Department of Public Works.
5. Review the Long Term Plan for continued applicability and to change any cost estimates. This is used to ensure that adequate capital reserves are maintained to fund capital improvements.
6. Review water usage patterns and any District growth to determine the likely amount of water that will be purchased.
7. Revise any assumptions and guiding principals used to influence the water rates and District fees.
8. Review the overall financial health of the District and ensure that adequate operating reserves are maintained as operating reserves.. The District is bared from borrowing money, and would have to levy a special assessment on District members to pay for any shortfall if such provisions had not been made.
9. Set the water rates and fees to generate the required revenue to cover the projected costs, creating next year's budget.
10. Announce and hold the Budget Hearing as part of a Regular Meeting and review and approve the budget.
11. The final the Budget and Budget Statement are sent to required government agencies.
12. Announce the new fees and water rates and implement them for January of the new budget year.

District Fees

The District has adopted the following fees for the identified services and obligations. The number in parenthesis is the Rules and Regulations Article and subsection defining the fee or charge. Any changes in the fees are determined during the annual budget process, and, whenever possible, are announced in December's billing to be effective the beginning of the next calendar year. Any immediate change in any obligations to the District initiated by the City of Lafayette will be implemented immediately.

The Archive page maintains records of the fees for previous years.

Water Rates

The District has adopted these 2009 Water Rates. Any changes in the water rates are determined during the annual budget process, whenever possible. Any immediate change in the cost of water initiated by the City of Lafayette will be implemented immediately. The water rates have been developed using the following principles:

1. The Connected and Non-connected Service fees should be kept as low as possible, with higher levels of water consumption having a higher marginal rate, if necessary, to meet revenue requirements.

2. The District continues to "mark-up" the water purchased from the City of Lafayette by the same rate as 2008 of $1.25 per thousand gallons, after 5000 gallons of usage.

3. A more progressive rate structure is being slowly phased in over a number of years to meet future revenue needs and promote conservation. The 2009 rate structure implements this by increasing the marginal rates at upper levels of utilization.

4. The District will support any rate changes initiated by the City of Lafayette during the year. The City of Lafayette bills water at $1.91 per thousand gallons for the first 322,000 gallons of usage.

The Archive page maintains records of the water rates for previous years.

Long Range Plan

The District's Long Range Plan identifies specific capital improvement projects over then next twenty (20) years. The improvements have been either required by the Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Lafayette, or identified by the Directors. It is critical that adequate funds are set aside over time to do the projects, as the District is unable to borrow money (except for issuing bonds). Special assessments have been deemed inappropriate and too costly, so are not viewed as a source of funding.

Each project's cost has been estimated and the amortized annual dollars have been determined for the scheduled implementation date. During the annual budget process, each project  is re-evaluated and any revisions to the cost estimate or schedule are made. The necessary revenue that must be accumulated each year for each project is added to the operating budget for the current year. The revenue collected is added to the Capital Reserve fund, which is invested in ColoTrust.

Government Filings

During the course of conducting the financial business of the District, certain documents must be filed with various government entities. The following provides those documents.

Budget Message

The Budget Message announces the adoption of the operating budget (Enterprise Fund) for the year.

Debt Service Message

The Debt Service Message announces the adoption of the mill levy for the year retiring the bonds issued to form the District.

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