Benicia Finance Committee will continue a discussion Thursday about the city water and wastewater funds’ 10-year forecast.

That conversation began Tuesday during a joint meeting with the City Council.

The two enterprise funds are expected to operate as businesses, with revenues covering expenses.

However, the Finance Committee and Council heard Tuesday that no matter which approach the city takes, both funds are in danger of running out of reserves in a few years.

The only question is how quickly, Finance Director Karin Schnaider told attendees of the joint meeting.

The city has a backlog of repairs and capital improvements it has postponed because of the recession’s impact on the budget. However, if the Council decided to fund all those projects, the two funds’ reserves would vanish quickly, Schnaider said.

Postponing all preventive measures and new purchases only delays depletion of reserves, she said.

Such a tactic is risky, since emergency repairs could cost more than routine maintenance.

The middle-road approach wouldn’t tackle all the overdue projects, but also wouldn’t be as expensive as a full-bore strategy, Schnaider said. Plus, she noted, it wouldn’t be as risky as the bare-bones approach.

No matter which alternative the Council approves, she said, it’s likely that water and wastewater customers will see another increase in fixed fees and per-unit costs.

However, under California law, customers will have a chance to weigh in on any proposed increases.

Schnaider also will give the Finance Committee an update on the citywide financial computer software upgrade.

The panel will hear a quarterly report on Benicia’s investment portfolio and another quarterly report on all of the city’s funds. It will review the city’s warrant register, the monthly audit of payments to vendors.

In addition, the committee will review the progress it has made on its 2015-16 work plan.

The Finance Committee will meet at 9 a.m. Thursday in the Commission Room of City Hall, 250 East L St.

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