REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL AND
CORONA UTILITY AUTHORITY ACTION
DATE: 06/05/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
Honorable President and Board Members
FROM: Utilities Department
SUBJECT:
Title
WESTERN RIVERSIDE COUNTY REGIONAL WASTEWATER AUTHORITY FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to ratify the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority Fiscal Year 2025 budget. Corona’s Fiscal Year 2025 obligation is $5,521,153, which was included in the City’s Fiscal Year 2025 Sewer operating budget.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommended action
That the City Council approve the proposed Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority Fiscal Year 2025 budget.
That the Corona Utility Authority review, ratify, and to the extent necessary, direct the City Council to take the above actions.
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BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
The Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority (WRCRWA) operates a cost-effective regional water reclamation treatment system for the benefit of its member agencies. The City of Corona is a member of WRCRWA, which also includes the City of Norco, Jurupa Community Services District, Home Gardens Sanitary District, and Western Municipal Water District.
On July 18, 2012, the City Council and the Corona Utility Authority approved the Project and Capacity Agreement to expand the treatment facility from eight million gallons to fourteen million gallons per day. The expansion provided the operational capacity required by Corona and other member agencies. The WRCRWA treatment plant expansion was completed in Fiscal Year 2018 and, according to Addendum No. 6 to the Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement creating the Western Riverside County Regional Wastewater Authority (City of Corona Membership), the City of Corona will now assume its fair share responsibility of administrative costs of the plant. The City’s original owned capacity was 2.37 million gallons per day. Still, the Transfer Agreement with Home Gardens Sanitary District approved by City Council on April 17, 2019, increases capacity to 2.62 million gallons per day.
ANALYSIS:
The WRCRWA Board approved the WRCRWA Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 proposed budget of Directors on April 25, 2024. The approved budget requires ratification by each member agency’s governing body. Corona’s Fiscal Year 2025 obligation is outlined in the following table. Staff has reviewed the budget documents and recommends that the City Council approve the item.
|
Expenditure Category |
Amount |
Fund Name |
|
Operations: |
|
|
|
Treatment System |
$1,844,323 |
Sewer Fund 572 |
|
Conveyance System |
$140,520 |
Sewer Fund 572 |
|
General & Administration |
$305,392 |
Sewer Fund 572 |
|
Debt Service: |
|
|
|
SRF Loan Payment |
$1,903,189 |
Sewer Capacity Fund 440 |
|
Capital: |
|
|
|
Non-Replacement Capital |
$1,020,851 |
Sewer Fund 572 |
|
Asset Replacement Reserve |
$306,878 |
Sewer Fund 572 |
|
|
|
|
|
Total Member Contribution |
$5,521,153 |
|
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The recommended action was funded in the Proposed Fiscal Year 2025 operating budget within the Sewer Utility Fund (572).
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is categorically exempt pursuant to Section 15301 of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use beyond that existing at the time of the CEQA determination, and is therefore exempt from CEQA. This action involves budget approval for operations and maintenance of an existing facility. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: KATIE HOCKETT, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
REVIEWED BY: TOM MOODY, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES
Attachments:
1. Exhibit 1 - WRCRWA Budget