Water-budget plan trims construction, adds $300,000 for vehicles and equipment

Starkville’s proposed year-end water-budget changes would take $492,320 out of the construction line while adding $300,000 for equipment and vehicles and $225,000 for maintenance. The changes were prepared for the Board of Aldermen’s October 20 budget-adjustment item.⁠[1]

The water capital-projects and construction allowance would fall from $1,297,953 to $805,633. Equipment and vehicle purchases would rise from $50,000 to $350,000. Those are proposed budget allowances—not a tally of purchases made or work completed.⁠[1]

Most of the additional maintenance money—$175,000—would go to materials and supplies. Building maintenance and tank-and-well maintenance would each gain $25,000. Including earlier adjustments, the proposed water maintenance budget would reach $2.466 million, compared with an original $1.316 million.⁠[1]

On the sewer side, the schedules propose another $100,000 for aerator expense, raising that allowance from $150,000 to $250,000.⁠[1]

The accompanying year-end financial snapshot shows a much larger gap between capital budgeting and recorded spending: combined water-and-sewer capital expense was $982,078 against a $14,941,924 budget, or 6.57%, through September 30. That summary does not provide a project-by-project explanation for the gap and should not be read as a measure of construction completion.⁠[1]

The utility labels those figures preliminary, with estimates reflecting unfinished month-end closing, final revenue billings and expense accruals. The amendments concern the fiscal year that ran from October 2025 through September 2026. The agenda packet requests consideration of the changes; the records reviewed do not establish whether aldermen adopted them.⁠[1]