Grant PUD sees higher labor costs

EPHRATA - Grant County PUD staff and commissioners are studying next year's proposed $479 million budget, which shows a 4 percent increase in labor costs from last year.

"The 4 percent is pretty much status quo," said PUD Commissioner Bob Bernd on Thursday.

There was an estimated 3.5 percent wage increase for craftsmen and union employees and estimated 3 percent wage increase for nonunion employees, he said. The total proposed labor budget is $64.9 million.

Most of the requests for additional staff are at the dams, so Hydro Director Dawn Woodward will present commissioners with a flow chart that will break down the increases, Bernd added.

Bernd said the hydro division wants to increase by 36 full-time regular employees.

For many employees, the increase is just a change of status and represents a move into regular full-time employment, he explained.

The increases at hydro mostly involve license implementation, fisheries work, turbine upgrades and the generator projects, Bernd said.

Overall, there's a net gain of about 20 employees with other workers in the customer service department, he said.

Some people who were not considered full-time regular employees were reclassified as full time, he said.

Workers associated with fiber are moving to the customer service area and four fiber technicians are being added, he added.

The IT department is losing 10 workers, so customer service is absorbing those employees, he said.

There are 685 full-time equivalents (FTEs) with 74.87 FTEs in the less than full-time category, according to proposed figures in an FTE summary.

He said that a few million dollars worth of expenditures were eliminated after commissioner meetings on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28. The decreases will be subtracted from the proposed budget, he said.

The overall proposed budget is a $29 million increase from last year's budget of $450 million, PUD senior financial analyst Bonnie Overfield told commissioners during a recent budget meeting.

She said some of the money represents work that has to be done in 2009. Overfield added some of that work is capital, which has been pushed forward and planning to be spent in 2009.

The proposed budget includes $127 million for purchased power, $72 million in debt service, $147 million in capital, broken out between Priest Rapids Dam, Wanapum Dam and the electric system, she said.

She said some electric building and property improvements are estimated to cost $7 million in 2009.

"We have some pretty major projects contributing to a pretty large volume of expenditures," she said.

PUD General Manager Tim Culbertson talked about the utility's strategic plan, which drives the entire budget.

The plan includes providing long-term, low-cost power to customers, maintaining a strong financial position, providing strong and positive customer service, maintaining environmental, resource and regulatory compliance, attracting and maintaining a high-quality workforce, developing, protecting and enhancing the district's interests in local, state, regional and national forums, providing and maintaining the necessary resources for employees to successfully perform their jobs and developing a sustainable fiber-optic broadband network, according to information he presented.

The public will still have an opportunity to give input into the budget, said Commissioner Tom Flint.

Public budget meeting are set for 2 p.m. on Nov. 17 in the commission meeting room in Ephrata and 6 p.m. on Nov. 18 at the Moses Lake Fire Station's meeting room.

There are no rate increases in the draft budget for next year, said Dorothy Harris, a PUD spokesperson.