Budget Information

Now available:   PROPOSED FY'09 BUDGET	Now available:  PROPOSED FY’09-14 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM (CIP)
APPROVED FY'08 BUDGET	ADOPTED FY'08-13 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM (CIP)

OVERVIEW

The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) is proud to provide our budget and CIP information through the World Wide Web to the citizens of Montgomery and Prince George's Counties and the world. Below you will find summarized budget information, CIP information and general information about the WSSC’s budget processes. More detailed information is contained in the attached budget documents, which are provided here in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The PDF format allows us to display the full content of the budget document in its original appearance. The budget document includes detailed budget submissions, WSSC's budget processes, fiscal policy and approach to budgeting. The CIP document includes a discussion of WSSC's legal authority, the CIP planning process, a program overview, and detailed project information.

Budget Information

Commission is proposing an 8.0% rate increase to pay for escalating prices for operating and maintaining our plants, pipes and facilities including the cost of power, chemicals, and fuel. The Commission is also still catching up after six years of no rate increases (FYs’99-’04) and two years of rate increases below the rate of inflation (FYs’05-’06). The FY’09 rate increase will add approximately $3.75 per month to the average residential customer’s bill. The proposed budget reflects our continued focus on providing safe and reliable water, returning clean water to the environment, and doing it in a financially responsible manner.

However, our nation’s infrastructure is aging and beginning to fail. The WSSC’s water and wastewater systems are no exception. In 2007, the Commission set a record for the most water main breaks and leaks in a calendar year. During 2007, the WSSC registered 2,129 water main breaks and leaks, breaking the previous record of 1,827 in 2003.

We must plan for the timely repair, rehabilitation, and replacement of our infrastructure. Our grandparents and parents sacrificed to build safe and reliable water and wastewater systems. Ours is the first generation that must focus on replacement rather than repair. As such, the Commissioners acknowledged the need for expanded infrastructure renewal and agreed to continue dialogue on how to fund WSSC’s infrastructure replacement needs. By addressing our aging infrastructure, we can help ensure the continued reliable delivery of drinking water and the proper treatment of wastewater for our customers in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties.

Last summer the Commission released the first phase of a 30-Year Infrastructure Plan that involved a broad examination of the condition and lifespan of all of the Commission’s major assets. Among the findings of the report are:

• Renewal of the water system is driven primarily by the physical mortality of the buried piping. It is estimated that by 2025 approximately 50% of the entire distribution system will reach or exceed its useful life. There are approximately 2,000 miles of cast iron pipe in the distribution system (piping less than 16 inches in diameter) and over 85% of this pipe will exceed its useful life by 2025.
• Of the almost 5,500 miles of water mains the WSSC maintains, 1,300 miles are more than 50 years old. Another 2,400 miles of pipes are between 25 and 50 years old.
• The WSSC’s wastewater collection system still has a substantial lifespan remaining. However, a significant investment in rehabilitation is required to realize that remaining lifespan. Additionally, three types of sewer pipes are in poor condition and several drainage basins will require significant attention over the next 30 years.

CIP Information

The Proposed FY's 2009-2014 Capital Improvements Program includes an estimated total program of $1.6 billion, or approximately $46.9 million less than the FY's 2008-2013 Adopted CIP. Estimated expenditures in the Six-Year program period are $877 million, $36 million greater than the previous CIP. Expenditures for FY'09 are estimated at $224.1 million. For further information on the FY’s 2009-2014 CIP document, please click here.

The Adopted FY's 2008-2013 Capital Improvements Program estimated total program is $1.65 billion. Estimated expenditures in the Six-Year program period are $841 million. Expenditures for FY'08 are estimated at $149.9 million. For further information on the FY's 2008-2013 CIP document, please click here.

General Information

Budget Formulation Process

Maryland State Law requires that WSSC prepare capital and operating budgets each fiscal year. Each Budget shows funding and staff requirements, organizational components, and program and fund sources.

The budget process begins with submission of requests by all organizational units following the guidance provided by the General Manager. Management reviews these requests before the General Manager presents his recommendations to the Commissioners. The Commissioners review the budget and make recommendations before approving a proposed budget document for public hearing. A proposed budget document must be available to the public by January 15. Hearings on the WSSC budget are held in each county before February 15. WSSC considers comments and testimony given at the public hearings before the Proposed Budget is transmitted to the counties.

State law requires WSSC to transmit its proposed budget to the counties by March 1 of each year. The County Councils and County Executives and their staffs review the budget and make recommendations. Both counties must approve any amendments to the budget on or before June 1. Once the counties' actions have been received, WSSC adopts an Approved Budget and sets the levels for charges, fees, and taxes to finance approved expenditures. The Approved Budget takes effect on July 1.

Once the budget is adopted, total expenditures may not exceed the final total approved budget without an approved budget supplement. Budget supplements must be approved by the Montgomery and Prince George's County Councils, and are transmitted to them through their respective County Executives.

CIP Formulation Process

Under Article 29, Washington Suburban Sanitary District, Title 7, WSSC Capital Improvements Program, Annotated Code of Maryland, the WSSC is responsible for annually preparing a Six-Year Capital Improvements Program for major water and sanitary sewerage facilities and transmitting it to the County Council and the County Executive of Montgomery County and the County Executive of Prince George's County by October 1 each year. The Commission, where required by the two County Councils' final action on the program, must revise the same and then prior to the commencement of the first fiscal year of the six-year program, adopt the Capital Improvements Program.

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