A couple of years after having to ask the Putnam and Baldwin county governments for some help getting over a financial hump, the Sinclair Water Authority (SWA) board passed a $2.4 million operating budget for the coming year last Monday and chatted informally about conditions and opportunities for expansion.
The budget increases the 2023 version by $223,000 (10.2 percent), the biggest chunks coming from Georgia Power’s charges for raw water and chemicals, ESG Operations Manager Brice Doolittle said.
Paying for the increases comes with a 6-percent rate hike, but board members Tommy Jefferson and Sammy Hall were confident that by the time the $223,000 was spread over 7,400 customers, each would see only a 1 to 1.5 percent increase in monthly bills.
Hiring the utilities management firm ESG has been “a lifesaver,” according to outgoing board chairman Bobby Brown of Baldwin.
Jefferson, a Putnam appointee, was elected as the new chairman, and his board seat will need to be filled.
The upbeat mood about the authority’s financial status fueled some informal chatter about adding a fifth water-cleaning “train” to prepare for possible increases in demand, even some slightly outside Putnam or Baldwin borders. Some additional federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds may become available, too, according to Doolittle.