Tampa Bay Water Board Approves 2011 Budget

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Tampa Bay Water’s Board of Directors approved the agency’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget. The approved budget reduces agency expenditures by more than $16 million and results in a wholesale drinking water rate of $2.53 per 1,000 gallons.

The new wholesale rate equates to a $1.05 per month increase for the typical family residential customer in the Tampa Bay Water service area using 8,000 gallons.

Koni Cassini, Director of Finance and Administration for Tampa Bay Water said, “The approved budget meets the agency’s goals to provide clean, safe water every day; to insure we are operating within all of our permits; and to protect the region’s investment in alternative drinking water sources and a drought-resistant water supply.”

Highlights of the Fiscal Year 2011 budget include:

• Reduced overall agency budget from $176 million in current year to $160 million, a 9 percent reduction.
  
• Reduced staff by 3 positions to 125 full-time equivalent positions, a 2.3 percent decrease in staffing.
  
• Minimized the unavoidable rate increase in light of an 8 percent decrease in water sales projected for the coming year.
  

With the exception of the surface water treatment plant expansion and litigation expenses related to the reservoir, Tampa Bay Water reduced all items in its budget.

Tampa Bay Water is the largest wholesale water supplier in Florida, providing high-quality drinking water to its members, who in turn, supply water to more than 2.4 million residents of the Tampa Bay area. Tampa Bay Water member governments include the cities of New Port Richey, St. Petersburg and Tampa, and the counties of Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas.

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