The Austin City Council has final say over a new central administrative facility for Austin Utilities.

That’s what council members found out during their work session Monday night after listening to a presentation from Austin Utilities General Manager Mark Nibaur. If utilities officials move forward with a new building or renovation, the city of Austin will likely have to issue almost $20 million in debt to pay for the project, at no tax increase to residents.

Utilities officials are looking to consolidate its office operations, including customer service, staff operations and administrative duties, from the seven buildings utilities workers use. Though Austin Utilities has for years looked at options to improve its efficiencies — utilities officials bought 23 acres south of Todd Park in 2009 to potentially host a new building — Nibaur said the time wasn’t right to move forward until utilities officials decommissioned the downtown power plant and looked at its options.

Utilities officials would likely need to raise utility rates to help offset project costs. Officials estimate the average residential utility bill would rise by $5 to $6 per month regardless of the project, while a small- to medium-sized business bill would increase an average of $44 to $70 per month and a large business utility bill would increase an average $66 to $142 per month. Nibaur said the company will also look at federal and private grants to offset construction costs.

Yet a new building, which would cost between $15 to $20 million, could solve a lot of utilities problems. Nibaur told council members there were several safety and efficiency concerns within the utilities company — including three people sharing a building by themselves.

“There’s some codes regarding material and equipment that we have to put under a roof, and we don’t have enough roofspace right now,” Nibaur said. “We don’t have room for some of the standards and requirements our company has.”

About 20 percent of utility vehicles are regularly stored outside, and Austin Utilities doesn’t have space for all of its water and gas piping, which must be stored under a roof, according to Nibaur.

There’s no guarantee Austin Utilities will move forward with a new building project. Nibaur has spoken to several service groups and organizations over the past few months soliciting feedback on whether to move forward with a new building or simply renovate existing facilities. While new building is estimated to cost about $15 to $20 million, a large-scale renovation project to accommodate utility needs would cost about $13 to $16 million.

What Austin Utilities does will depend on how residents feel about the projects. Nibaur said utilities officials seek feedback from customers to figure out how best to serve them. Thus far, reaction to a new building has been surprisingly positive, but Nibaur said Austin Utilities could decide to renovate or go in another direction based on resident feedback.

People can email their reactions about the new building at NewBuilding@AustinUtilities.com, call Nibaur at 507-433-8886 or stop by the Austin Utilities office at Fourth Street and Fourth Avenue Northeast.

Nibaur said utilities officials will gather feedback until the Austin Utilities Board of Commissioners meeting in March, where board members will likely decide what to do next. If the board decides to move forward on a new building, Austin Utilities would hire an architect to make solid plans for a new building, and Nibaur said the company could open the bidding process on the project by 2015.

After that, it will be up to the council to issue debt for the utilities company. While the city has a few options, such a large amount of debt could affect interest on city bonds depending on how the debt is issued, according to city finance director Tom Dankert.

Council members and Mayor Tom Stiehm appear to be on board with whatever utilities officials decide.

“Ultimately the fate of the project rests with the city council,” Stiehm said.