by Allison Perch | Dec 2, 2015 | Financial Management, Utility Management
What can a small town do when the financial health of its water system is at risk? This is the question that Stephanie Finch, the town clerk and treasurer for the Village of Magdalena in New Mexico, faced in early 2015. Magdalena has a population of 1,200 and its...
by Glenn Barnes | Nov 23, 2015 | Financial Management
At our workshops and through our discussions with water systems during technical assistance work, many water systems, in particular small systems, ask what seems like a simple question: “Are our rates right?” I suspect our initial answer is somewhat unsatisfying: “It...
by Stacey Berahzer | Nov 17, 2015 | Financial Management
About 96% of the population in Puerto Rico receives water from the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA). But the other 4% of the population is supplied by about 240 very small water systems. In teaching workshops this year in Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia and...
by Glenn Barnes | Oct 1, 2015 | Financial Management
In previous posts, we outlined how to use the financial statements of a water or wastewater system to calculate the key financial indicators of operating ratio (a measure of self-sufficiency), debt service coverage ratio (a measure of a system’s ability to pay its...
by UNCEFC | Aug 19, 2015 | Financial Management
The Upside: The water business sells one of the most important, if not the most important, products on earth. It is a product that can be used for thousands of purposes and one that has limited competitive pressures compared to other products (an overseas producer...
by Jeff Hughes | Jul 23, 2015 | Financial Management
Small water systems serving 10,000 people or less comprise more than 94% of our nation’s public water systems. They are a large and diverse group and are managed by a wide variety of actors. These include local and tribal governments to mobile home park owners,...
