Pueblo West Water and Waste Water Enterprise

The Pueblo West Metropolitan District Water and Waste Water departments are classified as "enterprise funds." As a government enterprise fund, the Pueblo West Water and Waste Water department may charge user fees for its water delivery and waste water collection services. Enterprise funds are separate from a local government's general budget. 

What is an 'enterprise fund'?

Government utility enterprises are common in the State of Colorado and are used for numerous government fee-based services, such as utilities, parks and recreation, emergency services and more. 

Local enterprises are considered a government-owned businesses that collect a bulk of its revenue from user fees. The establishment of government enterprise funds was authorized by the 1992 Colorado Taxpayer's Bill of Rights (TABOR) Amendment. 

All fees collected by the Water and Waste Water enterprise must be used on water or waste water-related functions. Since the enterprise is separate from the Metro District general fund, revenues from the Water and Waste Water enterprise may not be loaned back to the Metro District. 

How an 'enterprise fund' accounts for internal services

The Water and Waste Water Enterprise does not have its own internal services division to provide functions such as human resources and information technology (IT), for instance. For accounting purposes, the Metro District assesses fees to the Water and Waste Water Enterprise for providing such services. This is standard practice for government enterprise funds operating in Colorado. 

Conversely, since the local government and the enterprise are separate, the Metro District is charged water fees by the Water and Waste Water Enterprise. A bulk of the water used by the Metro District government is utilized by the Parks and Recreation department. 

Learn more

The Pueblo West Metropolitan District Finance Department provides financial and accounting services to the Water and Waste Water Enterprise. Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, known as audits, are available dating back to 2006. This year's approved budget is also available at the Financial Department's Budget Center page.