Board of Trustees Action Items
Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Central Weld County Water District Rate Discussion

During Wednesday night’s meeting, Town Staff gave a presentation to the Board of Trustees regarding the impacts of Central Weld County Water District’s (CWCWD) water rate increases.  Since 1974, the Town of Firestone has relied on CWCWD to treat and deliver water from the Carter Lake Filter Plant to Firestone customers. 

Throughout these years, Town staff has worked diligently to clearly understand these increases and judiciously calculated the actual impact on our rates. As a result, the increases passed through and imposed on Firestone water customers are the bare minimum of what is needed to cover these increases and always less than the increases announced by CWCWD.

In 2019, CWCWD notified the Town of Firestone that rates would rise and informed the Town that it should expect annual rate increases. From 2019 to 2022, the Town of Firestone absorbed all 4 of the rate increases imposed by CWCWD, totaling $556,202. In late 2022, the Town could no longer absorb the rate increases and began to pass through the CWCWD rate increases.  In each case, the amount passed through to Firestone water customers was less than the percentage increases CWCWD announced.  Between 2023 and 2024, CWCWD adjusted its rate structure and lowered the per-tap allotment of treated water.  Those changes resulted in CWCWD increasing the Town’s costs for treated water by $1,032,980. 

In July, the Town received notification of a new round of rate increases.  Effective November 1, 2024, CWCWD will impose water rate increases ranging from 11% to 20% and will increase the base rate by 17%. And again, based on data analysis and calculations by staff, the Town anticipates an 8.2% increase is needed to cover solely the CWCWD rate increase.

While working to prepare the 2025 budget, Town Staff is anticipating a 5% increase that was adopted based on the Water Rate Study, plus an 8.2% increase due to CWCWD. 

Key Takeaways

• To clarify any confusion, during the discussion, it was mentioned many times by Town Staff and the Board of Trustees that any money we are getting from water customers is not going to any of the debt service or any of the Water Action Plan projects, including the St. Vrain Water Treatment Plant or any of the water acquisitions. This has been a clear and consistent policy from the Board of Trustees.  
• A Firestone water customer’s bill is comprised of the Town of Firestone’s Water Rate + CWCWD Rates.
• The Firestone’s Water Rates schedule was adopted in 2023 and is published for residents to review here.
• The Town of Firestone cannot anticipate or estimate CWCWD increases that may come in the future and would impact water customer rates.

Model Service Plan Adoption

During the Board of Trustees meeting, the Board approved Resolution 24-86, adopting a Model Service Plan for Metro Districts. The purpose of adopting a Model Service Plan is to allow the Board of Trustees to have a consistent set of expectations about the creation, operation, and management of a metro district within the Town of Firestone. 

The Board of Trustees most recently discussed the Model Service Plan elements during the July 10^th Regular Meeting and their August 21^st Work Session. 

2025 Budget Presentation: Water Fund & Stormwater Fund

The Board of Trustees began reviewing the 2025 proposed budget in a Work Session on Wednesday, September 18. During Wednesday night's meeting, the Board of Trustees reviewed the Water Fund and Stormwater Fund budgets and the Water & Community Resources Budget from the General Fund. 

New this year! The Board of Trustees and the community can utilize a new online, interactive tool called Balancing Act to visually prioritize projects and understand budgetary limitations. This tool is published online so to allow the public to educate themselves and provide comments. Each fund will have a separate simulation published online before being presented each week.

View the complete budget presentation schedule, links to the Balancing Act online tool, and any documents presented throughout the budget preparation process online at www.firestoneco.gov/budget.  

AXON Contract

During Wednesday night's meeting, the Board of Trustees approved Resolution 24-82, a 10-year Agreement with Axon Enterprises Inc (Axon). This is a newly negotiated contract with Axon, as the current Axon contract is set to expire in 2025. The new contract allows the police department to adopt cutting-edge technology that will better serve its needs and those of the community.

Some upgrades include receiving the latest generation of body-worn cameras (BWC), upgrading to TASER 10, unlimited cloud storage for video evidence, a virtual reality training module, and an enhanced Records Management System, which will streamline workflows and significantly improve data management and officer efficiency. Another notable feature is Draft One, an AI-powered report-writing tool that automatically generates report narratives from BWC footage, drastically reducing report-writing time.

These upgrades are expected to lead to long-term savings and operational efficiencies, ultimately enhancing service delivery and aligning with two of the police department's strategic goals: Technology Advancement and Improve Operational Efficiency.

Additional Information

View the complete September 25, 2024, Board of Trustees meeting packet and recording of the meeting here.
 
Board of Trustees Action Items are brief summaries of some, but not all, agenda items and do not serve as the official meeting minutes. To request approved meeting minutes of Board of Trustees meetings, please contact the Town Clerk's Office at townclerk@firestoneco.gov.