HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - February 15, 1989 (71)-, CITY COUNCIL MEETING
FEBRUARY 15, 1989
SECTION 13.08.010
OF THE LCIS MUNICI?AL
CODE AMENDED TO REQUIRE
THAT WATER RATES BE
SET BY ORDINANCE
INSTEAD OF RESOLUTION
ORD. NO. 1446
INTRODUCED
The City Council introduced Ordinance No. 1446 entitled:
"An Ordinance of the Lodi City Council Arnen nlg
C-�
Municipal Code Section 13.08.010 To RequirE Adoption or
Rates for Water Service by Ordinance in Lieu of
Resolution".
CC -,183(e) '
City Attorrey McNatt apprised the City Council that recent
State legislation has modified Health and Safety Code
Section 5471 which previously required that sewage and
solid waste disposal rates be set by ordinance as opposed
to resolution. Now included in that section is rate
setting for water systems, which now must also be adapted"
')y ordinance. In fact, Lodi Municipal Cade "S'ect'ion:
13.08.010 specifies that water rates shall 1,e adopted or
ectablished by "resolution" of the Council. Based on the
recent change in State law, it is now necessary that this...
portion of the Municipal Code be amended to reflect the
change. Therefore Ordinance No. 1446 brings the City into " .
compliance with State law by providing that our water rates
be set via ordinance rather than resolution.
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Continued January 4,
'39
AMENDED WATER RATES
ADOPTED
RES. NO. 89-02
Following a brief introduction of the matter by City
Manager Peterson, Assistant City Manager Glenn advised the
CC -6
City Council that dating back to the Budget Message in the
CC 51(4,
1988-89 Operating Budget document promulgated last ';ay , me ►
T'
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have been periodically cne need to adjust the
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City's v atar rate schedule. In fact, this matter has been
informally discussed by the City Council and staff for the
last two years. A the Council is aware, the water rate
schedule for all residential units as well as some
commercial and industrial uses is a flat rate, regardless '
of water usage. The current residential rate is $6.00 per
month. This rate was established in 1976, and represented s
a 50% increase from the then -existing rate of $4.00. The
1976 adjustment also i ncre._ ed all other rates in the
schedule by a like percentage amount (50%) , including `
metered commercial and industrial accounts. The last
increase prior to that was in 1965 when the rate was
increased 100%, from $2.00 to $4.00. z,
The present schedule is rife with inequities. The flat
rate charge in the residential community is applied equally
to the studio apartment, the one -bedroom alley house and �
the five -bedroom house with large, landscaped grounds. One.
aspect of the current schedule is that theper-apartment
unit rate is less if the landlord pays the bill than if the
tenant pays. The current schedule also includes a
decliningy
block rate for metered customers. This conceit
translates to "the more you use, the less it costs." This
schedule, which does nothing to encourage prudent water
usage, is 18 cents per one hundred cubic feet (100 cu/ft) r`
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;
and 12 cents per 100 cu/ft for amounts in excess of 250,000
cubic feet. Further contributing to the list of inequities
are the rates charged to unmetered commercial and r
industrial accounts. In some instances the rate is based E-
on the size of the water service to the property. In
others, the front foota&e 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.
The City i s currentlyproducing and delivering water a t a
cost i n 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. One 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, i t i s obvious that a comprehensive water rate
schedule adjustment is long overdue.
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