Water district passes annual budget

Ramona Municipal Water District directors have unanimously passed a 2016-17 fiscal year budget.

The budget includes total revenues of $30.8 million and total expenditures of $42 million.

Because district directors do not like to borrow money for capital projects, funds have been accumulating to pay for improvement projects, and that money explains the difference between the budget revenues and expenditures, said Richard Hannasch, the district’s chief financial officer. Among examples are $4.6 million for water system infrastructure, $2.5 million to relocate aging water pipelines during the San Vicente Road Realignment Project, $3.5 million for Santa Maria Sewer Service infrastructure, and $1.2 million for San Vicente Sewer Service capital projects, he said.

Of the total revenues, $25.7 million stems from rates and charges. The remaining $5.2 million comes from property taxes the county collects and turns over to the district.

The district’s budget is broken into six funds: water, fire, parks, San Vicente and Santa Maria wastewater, and a general fund. Revenues generated by each of those categories can only be spent in their respective funds, said Hannasch. This means the district only has discretion on how to spend its allotment of property tax.

Budget documents show the district’s 2016-17 property tax allotment will be spent as follows: $2.3 million on fire operations, $150,000 on fire capital purchases, $499,000 on debt service payments, $200,000 on capital projects, $500,000 on water operations, $400,000 on general fund capital projects, $400,000 on other general fund needs, $400,000 on Santa Maria Sewer capital projects and $400,000 on San Vicente Sewer capital projects.

All of the property taxes being allocated to the water fund — $500,000 — will go directly into the district’s rate stabilization fund, bringing its total to $1.5 million.

The rate stabilization fund is intended to offset effects of the district’s water fund, which is expected to decline from $18 million in 2015-16 to $15.8 million in 2016-17.

Personnel throughout the water district will remain the same, said Hannasch, noting the RMWD has employed 48 people since the 2013-14 fiscal year.

Jim Hickle, the board treasurer, encouraged his colleagues to pass the budget, calling it “very good” and “balanced.”