Councilman Williams Update 10/29/25

Special Meeting to discuss Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) and how to pay for them.  We also discussed financial policies and were asked to give directions to the town manager which I tried to delay without success.   Part 2 was a vote to cancel our next work session since we had this special meeting. 

Public Comment

Citizen – Raised concern over government shutdown and cutting Federal workers water off.  Mentioned Council member post regarding staff vs Planning Commission roles in subdivision approvals.  Suggested ppl should attend the Nov 13 PC hearing at 5:30p.  Suggested it was good we have $1.5M in excess reserves and council is obligated to spend.

Alternative Funding for Capital Improvement Projects, Ted Cole, Davenport & Company – We started by going over water and sewer and then we moved to general fund projects.  Below is a summary of what was discussed and voted on.

Water CIP

·       We were presented with numbers and told FY25 figures should be out soon.

·       Operating expenses are growing exponentially and continue to outpace revenues.

·       Current CIP projects - $90k Water meter communications, $115k Dennison well closure

·       We are in a good cash position with $2M available.

·       Expenses are projected to increase annually between 7.8% to 15.5%

·       The focus seemed to be around money available for debt services.

·       We were told historically we have had $1.24 or more left to cover every dollar of debt but for FY25 we may be under.

·       The financial advisor said a good policy was to require the minimum of $1.24 but my fear is this will give Council an excuse to raise rates vs running the plant responsibly.

·       Wood made a motion to ask the town manager to bring the above policy to Council for a discussion/ vote. 

·       I do not support bringing a policy to set a minimum ratio that may trigger rate increases so I voted NO.  Final vote 6-1

·       The rest of council voted to have the Town Manager draft a policy.  Mrs. Grandstaff did ask to clarify that this was only to bring the policy to council and not a commitment.

Sewer CIP

·       Previously Council voted to move money from the water fund to cover sewer shortfall.

·       Similar to water the sewer debt ratio is often higher than it needs to be, e.g. over 2X when 1X is sufficient.

·       Current CIP sewer projects are $2.8M (cash funded)

·       Future projects are $23M with no plans on how to pay.

·       The question asked is what does it take to fund with revenue growth?

·       Wood made another motion to have staff bring a policy to council to require a 1.10X ratio which means if council ultimately passes this, we will have a built-in excuse to raise rates.  Vote was 6-1 with me being the only NO vote.

·       The public will have a say later but it felt like this was planned ahead and my initial reaction was why vote to direct staff to draft a policy without knowing if the public supports it.

General Fund CIP

·       The overall report hasn’t changed much since our last meeting.

·       Unassigned funds is excess money we have available to spend.

·       In 2020 the excess was $2.4M and in 2024 it was $5.1M.

·       The new policy is to put any amount over 30% into the CIP (Currently $1.49M).

·       Our existing debt is $8.3M

·       We have the capacity for more debt but may not be able to afford more without raising taxes.

·       I asked why the Dwight Ave extension was on the list when council did not support that in our recent CIP planning meeting.  Answer: because it was part of the approved 2026 CIP.  This is why what is put in the CIP matters because they are no longer calling it a “wish list”.

·       It was suggested our annual debt affordability is $663K which is the amount we currently spend.

·       Our CIP has $4.3M in projects over the next 5 years, e.g. Trash truck, Beach Rake, Tractor, Police vehicles, Utility/plow, Sidewalks, Dwight Ave Extension. 

·       After some discussion we only agreed to “potentially” cash fund the FY26 projects which were Trash truck $300k, Police vehicles $131K, Utility/plow $70k, Sidewalks $130k, and Town pier $60k.

·       I did ask why the trash truck could not be paid out of the trash fund and was told there’s not enough money in the fund (Surprise! The mark was missed there).

·       Just my observation but seems interesting how we pass a CIP (4 current members didn’t vote for it by the way) and suddenly these projects/ purchases are considered golden and as good as approved.  I guess council may as well just throw everything into a CIP and call it a day.

·       While scenarios were given to borrow or increase taxes, no decisions were made beyond the FY26 cash list above.

·       We held a vote 7-0 (not sure why it couldn’t wait) to move the $1.49M excess to the CIP. 

·       Wood made a motion to have staff draft a new policy that would move any amount under $663K (our current debt payment) to the CIP yearly.  Tom raised concerns that this seemed like a strange way to fund the CIP and I agreed.  I proposed an alternative where we set a CIP amount that would be similar but not tied directly to the debt payment. 

·       Wood’s motion passed 7-0 and mine passed 6-1 with Wood voting NO.  I honestly think this all needs more thought but if we are left in the dark until the night of the meeting it’s hard for us to make informed decisions.

Another Random item not on the agenda– The land sale policy came up because the Volunteer Rescue Squad is no longer operating and they were previously getting 5% of all land sales.  A request was made for staff to present a new policy at a future meeting. Vote was 7-0 but I’m not sure the staff direction was clear enough. 

Robin once again pushed to change the name of the ARPA funds (not sure why that’s important but keeps coming up). 

Resolution #33-25, Cancellation of Town Council Work Session on November 5, 2025 – Vote was 7-0

Councilman David Williams

Please email or call with questions or comments:

dwilliams@colonialbeachva.gov

540-604-4335