HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - January 4, 1989 (35)Continued January 4, ~�89
AMENDED WATER RATES
ADOPTED
RES. 1O. 89-02
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Following a brief introduction of the matter by City
Manager Peterson, Assistant City Manager Glenn advised the
City Council that dating back to the Budget Message in the
1988-89 Operating Budget document promulgated last May, we < ,
have been periodically discussing the need to adjust the
City's water rate schedule. In fact, this matter has been
informally discussedby the City Council and staff for the
last two years. As the Council i s aware, the water rate
schedule for all residential units as well as some
commercial and icdustrial uses is a flat rate, regardless
of water usage. The current residential rate is $6.00 per
month. This rate was established i n 1976, and represented 4
a 50% increase from the then -existing rate of $4.00: The_' -
1976 adjustment also increased a I I other rates i n the
schedule by a like percntage amount' (50%), including
metered commercial and industrial accounts. The last i
increase prior to that was i n 1965 when the rate was
increased 100%, from $2.00 to $4.00.
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The present schedule is rife with inequities. The flat 4°?�
rate charge in the residential community is -.a I' d eoua11 N
9 Y pp y
to the studio apartment, the one -bedroom aliey:tiouse and
the five -bedroom house with large, landscaped 'grounds Qne
aspect of the current schedule is that the per=apartment}
unit rate is less if the landlord pays the"bil'i than if_'-the`-
tenant
the tenant pays. The current schedule`; also' includesa "r
declining block rate for metered customers. This, concept ix �w
translates to "the more you use, the less it
schedule, which does nothing .to encourage. ;prudent water `
usage, is 18 cents per. one hundred cubic feet., 000 ,.cu/ft)
of water used for the first 50,000 cubic feet; 15 cents `per "
100 cu/ft for usage between 50,000 and 250,000 cubic feet; i
and 12 cents per 100 cu/ft for anounts in excess of.250,000
cubic feet. Further contributing to the list of.. inequities....
are the rates charged to unmetered commercial :and ,
industrial accounts. In some instances the rate,:* i s'based .
on the size of the water service to the property. In
others, the front footage of the building is the -
determining factor. In still others, the rate appears to
have been the end product of long -ago negotiations, the
logic of which is beyond recall. i
The City is currently producing and delivering water at a
cost in some instances higher than is being charged metered
customers. In 1987, the City produced 66,742,460 cubic
feet of water at a cost of $1,143,695. This computes to a
cost of 17 cents per 100 cubic feet. C:ne hundred cubic
feet of water is equal to approximately 750 gallons. With
block rates ranging from 18 cents down to 12 cents per 100
cu/ft, it i s obvious that a comprehensive water rate
schedule adjustment is long overdue.
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