Archive - 2016 - Financials

  
 

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. Any corrected financial reports are published following the board meeting. Financial Reports for the previous years are available on the Archives page.

The 2016 Financial Reports, by actual month, are below:

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Financial Audit

For year ending December 31, 2016, the District will not perform an audit since there has been no significant construction or other capital improvement projects. The District has passed a resolution requesting the exemption from audit and have asked the District's independent auditor, Anton Collins Mitchell LLP, and Bookkeeper complete the necessary filings to submit to the State.

The Archives have links to previous years' reports.

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 Budget Information section.

2016 Budget Information

The 2016 budget information, approved in the 2016 Budget Hearing held during the November 9, 2015 Regular Meeting and Budget Hearing of the Board, follows: 2016 Operating Budget; 2016 Debt Service Budget; 2016 Long Range Plan; 2016 Resolution to Adopt Budgets and Appropriate Sums of Money; 2016 Resolution to Set Mill Levy; 2016 County Tax Levy Letter.

The water rates to support the Operating Budget are found in Water Rates.

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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.

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Bond Repayment Schedules

General Obligation Refunding and Improvement Bonds, Series 2010

The East Boulder County Water District successfully refinanced its General Obligation Bonds which resulted in a savings to taxpayers of over $150,000.  The average interest rate on the District’s bonds was lowered from 6.43% to 2.97%.  These new bonds received an “A+” rating from Standard & Poor's and will be completely paid off no later than 2020, with a callable date of 2017.  As a result of the bond issue, the District’s property tax mill levy is projected to be reduced by about 2.5 mills, saving the owner of a $500,000 home about $100 per year.

The complete set of documents, provided by George K. Baum & Company and Kutak Rock, LLP, associated with this bond refunding are available here (page 5 provides the Debt Service Schedule). The Debt Service Schedule is also available separately, here.

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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.

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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.

Fee Description Unit Amount
System Development Charge (7-2-1-A,B) One-time per tap  
Main Expansion Review/Observation Fee (7-3) One-time per extension  
Observation/Inspection Fee (7-4) Per construction event Actual Cost
Tap (Connected) Service Charge (7-5) Monthly per active tap (includes 5,000 gallons of water) $52.08
Non-Connected Service Fee Monthly per inactive tap $19.95
Inclusion/Exclusion Processing Fee (7-6-1) One-time per property $500
District Water Tap Fee - 5/8" Meter One-time per tap $2,000 + $28,457 (Lafayette)
District Water Tap Fee - 3/4" Meter One-time per tap $2,500 + $31,577 (Lafayette)
Disconnection/Reconnection Charges (7-7) Per event Actual Cost
Meter Testing Fee (7-8) Requested meter test when meter works properly Actual Cost
Construction Water Charge (7-9) One-time prior to installation of meter Estimated
Cure Charges (7-10) Per curative action taken by District Actual Cost
Civil Fines Pass-Through (7-11) Any act or omission that causes District to be fined Actual Cost
Delinquency Charges; Collection Costs; Liens Interest (7-12) Unpaid balances 1%
Delinquency Charges; Collection Costs; Liens Penalty (7-12) On unpaid indebtedness after 60 days from invoice  
Unauthorized Connection (9-6-1) Per incident $1,000
Unauthorized Use of Water (9-6-2) Per incident $1,000
Interference, Failure to Permit Inspection Per Incident $150
Tampering (9-6-4) Per incident $2,000
Easement Violations (9-6-5) Per incident $150
Unauthorized Entry (9-6-6) Per incident $25
Violation of Stop Work Order (9-6-7) Per incident $500
Failure to Provide Record Drawings (9-6-8) Per tap installed $100
Violation of Suspension/Termination Order (9-6-9) Per incident $100
False Office Statement (9-6-10) Per occurrence $500
Failure to Notify of Excavations Per occurrence $25
Failure to Comply with Irrigation Restrictions Per violation $250 first
$500 second
Flow regulator third and subsequent violations
Water Usage Offenses (9-6-13) Per offense $100 first
$250 second
$500 third and subsequent
Civil Damages (9-7) Per civil filing Actual Cost
Water Delivery Service Change Fee Per service status change $40
Actual Charges include any and all of the following in performance of activities associated with non-District-wide work District Operator labor
Materials
Equipment purchased or rented
Contractors
Consultants
Legal
and other such expenses		 Billed costs without any District markup

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

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Water Rates

There was an small error made in generating the earlier released 2016 July Water Rate Calculator that was distributed with the June 2016 Billing Statement. The corrected calculator has been generated and is now available. The District has adopted these 2016 July Water Rates (Revised) on June 13, 2016 during the Regular Meeting and effective July 1, 2016. The 2016 July Rate Annoucement Letter is available. These revised rates were required due to a rate increase implemented by the City of Lafayette mid-year and the District's increased maintenance expenses.

The District's previous Rates, 2016 Water Rates, effective January 1, 2016 were adopted on December 14, 2015 during the Regular Meeting. That Rate Announcement Letter is available.

Normally, 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 following a Water Rate Hearing.

 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 2016 rate structure has been kept the same as the 2015 rate structure. See the Archives for a discussion on setting the 2015 rate structure elements.

  3. The progressive rate structure that has been phased in over a number of years to meet future revenue needs and promote conservation is maintained.

  4. The District will support any rate changes initiated by the City of Lafayette during the year.

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

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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.

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Budget Message

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

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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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Boulder County Tax Levy Letter

The Boulder County Tax Levy Letter identifies the mill levy that the District requests the county to levy on all District properties.

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