Case Study: Tribal Water Utility Expands Capacity into Fiber to Serve Community
Client Background
A large California Tribal water utility with fewer than 50 employees that provides essential water, wastewater, and infrastructure services to their community.
The Situation
The Tribal water utility was expanding their services to provide broadband fiber to their community and landed the largest federal grant it had ever received for this purpose.
The utility was new to fiber construction, managing large scale construction projects or grant administration. Other challenges included limited staffing resources, a lack of formal construction-related policies and procedures as well as outdated financial and reporting systems.
The utility was also concerned about their overall ability to manage this project and meet strict federal purchasing and reporting requirements.
The Solution & Results
A team of advisors met with the utility to assess the situation, identify priorities, and provide guidance that addressed key challenges.
- Strategic planning and financial management: Developed a robust business plan with detailed financial forecasting to support strategic decision-making and execution throughout the broadband expansion project
- Construction contract reviews: Conducted thorough reviews of construction contracts, invoices and change orders to ensure strong financial controls and compliance with contract terms
- Construction procurement management: Created construction procurement and contracting policies, procedures, templates, and tools to simplify workflows, enhance compliance, and provide greater transparency
- Enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor selection and implementation: Evaluated ERP platforms and implemented new accounting platforms most suitable for the utility’s financial and reporting needs
- Grant compliance guidance: Supported grant administration by regularly meeting with grant representatives, assisting with grant reporting, and providing guidance whenever compliance questions arose
Because of this support, the utility:
- Enhanced its ability to make informed decisions and manage resources to keep the project on-track, on-time, and on-budget
- Enhanced its financial management and reporting capabilities with the successful implementation of ERP systems aligned with the utility’s operational needs and future growth plans
- Strengthened financial oversight and controls over contracts and other agreements
- Improved procurement efficiency and reduced procurement risk
- Established a robust compliance plan for meeting grant requirements
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