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Home My WebLink About1992-09-14 92-441 ORDER�vDate 9'14-92p1 Item No. 92-441 ORDER: Autlimizing that City IQvngei' to Issue a t for Item/Subject: Propcoals fox a Seel Rate Study Pesponsible Department sty Na Commentary: As reser ares have oantisved m increases, a comsat' of aarsvna have been tattered xegatdiM the City's current saex ate stxw:nsxe. Specific corretns have irlclutlad- billisg for reatser vced oufstsg Use bene, aGatagaRRs for saartairs tartitetrial or cutsoerciffi prvmeses Miece ester ! eitaer computed or: tcarippmrad dixstly to the river or st m, eid affozdability of eeuer services fox law imute xesideasts or tiuteaawrs. mhe attrarl optima width stluld he lnoltei at in such a study. Adoption of tiffs Ordor wtll aWrnfae the pcep3atim and issuarcre of an PPP. Dee tits are xemivetl, that Cmd ess will have thea option of Proceeding or not procealvsg. Igo will also have the option of reviewing possible adjuetments to the currsR cyst® or gofry ore step furtiaa and oareidecing a dtairlege utility. Oe rn ImA Manager's Comments: Cdr m,, Associated Information: Chat, bJ®o Budget Approval: Finv «Dire Legal Approval: Introduced For Passage n ❑ First Reading Page _ of ❑ Referral 92-441 A slpedb C,undor 5,,1, September 14, 1992 CITY OF BANGOR (TITLE.) i®rDEr.... _... ......................�uq.0 aty xarayec-m.0 a.F�tam By f" City Cwaet! Of W all of Baa . ORDERED, TWT wt Lr® aty V ---ger ;s auu to E n iasm a Fs t for Papos for a sewer Mt SVMy. 92-441 ORDER IN CITY COUNCIL ber 4, 1992 tor Se%%s ed P ft h ra..zing the City Manager to Issue a Request CITY LERR for Proposals fora Sewer Bale Study ..... j./...%....,.y.../.n/.....�...�.�./��[.�.��.... t�'V �• �W"�N Aanppedt ...... .......unci..... COWICiLll3n 92-441 1b: i4ambers of the l micipal Operations Q'mmittee From: 8tlwanl A. fWamett, Citi' Manager' Re: Se.RY Rate Stxu a Date: Augat 28, 1992 Free G past sas al months, quos i s lave been rale d by members of the N it and the public regaztlirg t City's seer rate str c uxe. Mat of hese questi.om have catered on the saver chargee aesociatad with t water rwei=d to £ill swim uinl pools. Bare ate, hnsuar, a number of aG r iawm which can ani perhaps skald be cmaStleted am seas rates are xeviawed. tlarat Rate Sdrrkule Unlike the Water District, tat City's sewer charg08 axe based on a flat rate. At the pteext tures this chs is $2.44 pat 100 co. ft. of war and r®aita constant regardless of the amount of water usal. Seer fates are fesed on water usage, and m alleumnoa is vada for water which nary or may not ranch tat City's sewage treatment plan:. There axe a umbar of altefretive nate structmues which cald be adopted. In Wet follows, I will attempt to outline aM discuss some of ttmsee. Smuret Math Discount Ctaplaints are vnamtly tavived that the City charges for all watt which goes the10 a water meter Mather Cir not such water is usai fco do vatic pupos08 or for outside vmtazl y or filling a svimmming pool. An alietretive in to provide for a rammer month discount. dbfs discount could be a flat percentage based on an estimate of the parcentage of surer water not used for darestfc purposes. mnilat approach. wuuld M to bill for surer usage famed on actual wlntei usage. l example, actual water usage for the vontlme of Mcvamber through April amid be ueei to establish seer usage for tat sumer moatts. TT would autumatically adjust for som:rer time nam iv estic Both of these Systemswould p Joie for an aijustmmt to summer sever use. '19ase adjusvmauts, busmen, are not witlovt potential for pmhlem. A flat Percentage diacomnt does not take ion accamt inEvitlual surer use patterns. Sam lovsebolds use little or no water wtsiBe. others. may use large quantities. Yet, a eryons mwuld receive tat same percentage discount. Basing rammer bills on winter use, while 1»ten ly a better UdfeaWr a actual use, also has some dcawbeclm. 1>@ example, water use in some Iwselolde may be artificially low in the winter or in Uo eu®t. Time may be split between t4e;,e a� otar locatiwus or between Favre and amp. In additimu, rhe systav is 1088 straijntfmsard and note complicated. It can easily lead to osmfusion and miswdmcstanii.ngm with frequent aro: camp and disputes, a Wwimp es, especially in ore use is unusually high for some reason. -z- Ww I ma Discounts Rau utilities offer pruyame which prwfUe for •life-line xatea•• or low imine discmn, x Soh an alts alive is infe1Wl as bills iax service to lav inane cvetnmco who f imteasinc sewer bills tin throe a an apps of their proboucess or trThis can (and l accomplished either d¢wsh an application encase es ortOthrough come maple inert lees praise expedients) such ea e amunpti the escort of tion covert in the base D5113ng ammuR u ter the ate« {+ ^^ that utilization is proportiaral to i.mme. lagreasfm mock sear Rat® This ie the apposite of the cvxxent deetini M black rete uasi by Ue Water District. In this plan, the sore eater used, the higher the cbu par unit of service. Such a system is oft usei 4ere mnsarvetion is a major goal eider for enviramental teasua or to delay or defer the cepital sequiturs associatai with such ftp as treeameR Plant expansion. Sch an approach, while an available option, may out be particularly sufti to our ci Cmuswrree since our capital pxayan is not being driven by ester use but ratter by Lateral treabtm¢ mid storm ater ,�•h�. Separate SWao Wates Q A amber of canwnities tame talon the step of separating their whstaater shames frea stommarer Charges. In such a system, two serrate charges are levied--one representing de cost of collating aml treating st mwrr m arca the sacrtl for waetearer. Such an approach my be partic Lorly eehoof to our sysf®o edoare substantial anreht aM fume costa are associated with separating and/or treating atomxeter. This would imluje, for eXOiple, stomeater eeparetion Projats ani the additional mat asacciated with a daabmsat Phan desiryiai to treat signnificv2 amounts of sours fiay. A sours water Charge would be bassd on the runoff of hmlivi properties. no greats the isgecvioue area of each property, the water this charges. For exmple, a property with a large parking lot would pay significantly voce than a staMatl single family xesidenos. While such an approach nukes a great mal of sense, it also represents the oust radical change from erne cuxreot syetus. It can be pareivel as unfair because it would represent a drautic cost shift fn osrain instrouss. In adlitlmh, issues of eguatY can also arise in this system based on the unique of a property. For example, the weer of a parking lot muj ht feel unfairly tread i if the lot is locaoai on the river or stream arci drains directly thrmgh an wren provicel pupa. harcon hi^m�/Iea�+� The issue of hem to equitably charge for our saner service is a complex one. Dur Carseat System is the mint simple sel etteightfnr+ana, Any Change will result in a reallocation of current coats assug use users. Sme will hesefit hfdle others will beer a greater cost. -3 - Our cyst® is further cwplfcatad by its very nature. Part of arz systeu las baanu separated. OtMr amass axe cambired ani sill renain cvmbiretl. Our Plant has leen designed to treat sl7usicvrc sty flows. Under whatevar system we select, Nets wlll coMdnue to increase for a amber of years until we lave absorbed the cap£tal expenditures randafel by state and federal goverrvrent. Ante 5[ndv An alternative d should he given seria,e conaitlexat£on ie a rata study to evaluate these and o alternatives and m evplw.e their positive and negative aspects and ingsets. Any change in rata stn ours e l redistribute the turden of sexes charges among ods users. Tbese lvgacts must le analyzed before any change is vede. emai on preliminary research, a rate study stash dors not include a stnmr eater utility sMuld take appmvimately 3 mmths and cost $15,000 to $30,000. A study which includes a stommater charge will tale twice as lwg and cost $50,000 to $75,000. It is clear Gat escalating muss w l contirwe to twh about public xenetiwn and questions of equity. N a Hress these Nurses f Y, I would recwnmd that the mil authorize the issuance of an REP for a rate study. This RFP world he tnoken into two parts --a basic rate study a6tessing various opt wh£ch do not i nude a stomeater charts --and a request fur an analysis of a stormwater charge. This will establish coats and leave open the Option of pursuug a full stomuater utility should we so chose. Biwrd A. Barrett, City Manager ane/ldr