2010 Stormwater Management Report (PDF) - US Environmental ...

6.0 FINANCING STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The Commission’s Enabling Act empowers the Commission to independently set rates
and charges for the services that it provides. The Commission is required to establish
fees, rates, rents, assessments, and other charges at a level and amount at least sufficient
to pay the principal, premium, and interest on bonds issued by the Commission; to
maintain its reserve funds as stipulated by its General Bond Resolution; to provide funds
for paying the cost of all necessary repairs, replacements, and renewals of the water and
sewer systems; and to pay any and all other amounts which the Commission, by law or
by contract, is obligated to pay.
In determining costs for the Commission’s Stormwater Management Program and
NPDES Stormwater Permit compliance, it is difficult to separate costs that are
specifically attributed to the stormwater system, as opposed to those incurred for the
management of the Commission’s operations as a whole. In many cases staff, equipment
and vehicles are shared among divisions and departments, and activities that accomplish
one particular goal may also serve to satisfy the requirements of the Stormwater Permit.
The Commission has sufficient funds and equipment to carry out the stormwater
management programs and activities required under the NPDES Stormwater Permit. A
major portion of the Commission’s Stormwater Management Program and NPDES
Stormwater Permit compliance activities are achieved using existing in-house staff and
resources. Staffing and equipment are budgeted under the Commission’s Current
Expense Budget (CEB), which is updated annually. Larger sewer and drain projects are
funded under the Commission’s Capital Improvement Program Plan (CIP). The
Commission’s three-year CIP is updated annually.
6.1 CURRENT EXPENSE BUDGET
The 2010 Current Expense Budget provided for $292.1 million in revenues and expenses.
This amount represented a 4.1 percent increase as compared to the 2009 budget. Of the
total budgeted for 2010, $57.6 million was for direct expenses. The remaining $234.5
million was budgeted for the assessment by the Massachusetts Water Resources
Authority ($179.5 million), Debt Service ($43.2 million), Capital Improvements ($10.7
million), contractual Funding Obligations ($0.9 million), and the Safe Drinking Water
Act Assessment ($0.2 million).
In general, stormwater programs and activities are managed in-house by the
Commission’s Operations and Engineering Divisions. Approximately $24.2 million or
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