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Home My WebLink AboutAgenda Report - January 20, 2016 Comments by the PublicC-9 Adopted Resolution No. 204607 amending Traffic Resolution No. 97-148, Section 313, establishing two 15 -minute parking spaces on the north side of Vine Street, 285 feet east of Ham Lane. D. Corn by the. Pub is ori Nd -A e�daa. terns referred for review to staff or Placement_an a future counai agenda. Kathleen Tachella thanked Council Member Johnson for referring her, after the last Council meeting, to Ms. Avanti, who is helping to create a county area Neighborhood Watch program. With regard to the discussion at the previous meeting regarding an advisory board to address electric utility concerns, Ms. Tachella offered her services to rephrase the complexities of the Lodi Electric Utility into user-friendly terminology, as her first Masters Degree was in rewriting core curriculum for individuals with lower reading skills. Liz Bowman also thanked Council Member Johnson for putting her in touch with Chief Patterson and Jan Thalken with the Lodi Police Partners Program. With their assistance, her neighborhood has a plan for a Neighborhood Watch program and she has extended the invitation to others via the Nextdoor application. Ms. Bowman expressed support for the concept of an electric utility advisory board and indicated her willingness to volunteer. Susie Rabusin submitted a copy of a utility customer's water bill (filed) in which the customer was charged twice and accumulated additional fees. The Finance Department was able to verify that the bill contained typos and corrected the mistake, but Ms. Rabusin questioned how many customers have mistakes on their bills and pay without examining it further; if the City would refund a mistake after it was discovered; and if the City is making extra money on these mistakes. She expressed hope that this issue will be addressed. City Manager Schwabauer and Deputy City Manager Jordan Ayers Indlcated this was the first they heard of this particular instance, and Mr. Schwabauer assured Ms. Rabusin that when staff learns of a system -wide issue, he is notified and staff follows up to correct the problem. He is typically not notified of a single, or small, aberration, but he stated he would look into the matter and respond to her. In response to Mayor Chandler, Mr. Rabusin stated she would contact staff with the customer's account number. Council Member Nakanishi stated he would like an answer to explain what caused this typo, whether it was a computer error or employee error, adding that this is bad for business. In response to Council Member Johnson, Mr. Ayers confirmed that, had the customer paid the erroneous amount, he would have been credited the overage on the next billing cycle. In response to Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne, Mr. Schwabauer stated that the City allows customers to view what their volumetric water bill will be before moving to the metered wastewater bill. Until the winter water usage is known, customers remain on the bedroom rate for a year, with the wastewater bill following a year later. In response to Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne, Mr. Ayers stated that he.could not determine what the anomaly was with this particular bill w- i.e. was usage out of line or did a typo generate multiple lines -- until he reviewed the account. He 4 further explained that, for those with a metered water rate, the wastewater charge becomes a flat charge, but is computed for each customer based on winter water usage. The bill presented by Ms. Rabush contains a flat water rate, which Indicates that wastewater is not yet metered. Typically, water customers move from a flat to metered rate in January, and metered wastewater follows 6 to 18 months later on a July bill. Mr. Schwabauer added that this bill could have an inaccurate volumetric reading. E. Comments by the City Council Members on Non -Agenda Items Council Member Nakanishi commended the Lodi Community Foundation for its fund-raising efforts and explained that the Foundation Is non-profit, i.e. funds are not received or controlled by the City, and contributes greatly toward the Hutchins Street Square. The Foundation has 34 funds, one of which is the Hutchins. Street Square Foundation Endowment that received a $1.35 million donation. Council Member Johnson commented on a statement made by the City Manager at a previous meeting that it was a poor Business practice to have employees cross trained on both sides of utility bill transactions because It creates a weakness in security. He recently visited. the Finance Department, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, and witnessed significant customer lines. He requested that staff research ways to improve service by opening more transaction windows through reconfiguring staff or cross training emploYees in a manner that sloes not jeopardize the City. Mayor Chandler agreed with Council Member Johnson's suggestion. Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne stated that customers recently informed him they had 45 -minute to one-hour wait times in ilne and he believed that was egregious on the City's part. He concurred with Council Member Johnson's suggestion and recommended moving staff from other duties to speed up the process for customers. Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne reported that he was nominated Vice Chair of the Local Agency Formation Commission and that he is attending the League of California Cities New Mayors and Council Members Academy in Sacramento this week, at which the League discussed Proposition 63 that provides funding for the homeless and transitions for inmates back into the community. The bill has not yet passed, but the League is monitoring it closely. Also discussed at the Academy was the road fix for California and the Governor's decision to create a committee to review ways to fund roadways and infrastructure, such as increasing gas tax, vehicle license fee, fees for hybrid and electric vehicles, and potentially implementing a road charge. He stated California will likely see more information regarding. the road charge in June or July. Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne provided the. City Manager with a copy of the. publication entitled, "California Road Charge: Help Fix California's Roadways, One Mile at a Time" (filed). In response to the electric utility issue, City Manager Schwabauer reiterated that it is poor fiscal practice to have employees who set up utility bills to also receive payment because it could Increase the chance of fraud. He stated that there may be other options, such as utilization of other Finance employees, and staff will review all possibilities. Mr. Schwabauer added that staff will bring forth a mid -year budget option to potentially add staff. Council Member Nakanishi expressed support for Council Member Johnson's suggestion, stating that the goal for wait time in the Finance Department should be 20 minutes at most. He stated he looked forward to receiving staffs suggestions. Mayor Chandler reported that he participated in the Breakthrough Project on Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, adding that Council Member Johnson also participated and Mayor Pro Tempore Kuehne took part in the panel discussion. He stated that he is attending the. Northern California Power Agency Conference in Sacramento this week, at which he met with other community representatives who are making progress on their homelessness situation and he will bring those ideas to Lodi. ays I ow Mawr CGo� b t sage Pub VC-) EA 1 32 53229 52632 1597 Usage Charge 391 KWH x $0.14910 $58.30 Usag 117 KWH x $0.15225 $17.81 Electric Services 89 KWH x $0.23468 $20.89 ECA - Jan 597 KWH x $0.01570 $9.38 Current usage 597 CA Solar Surchrg 597 KWH x $0.00125 $0.75 Previous period 472 Taxes: State Energy Tax $0.17 ONE YEAR AGO 683 $107.30 Water Meter Number Rate Type No of Days New Meter Read Last Meter Read Mull Usage NS34 62 SarYr{, 32895 31691 1 1204 ` iM►�►bt� WS34 33 33559 31691 1 1868 - Metered Water 3/4" $36.42. Usage Metered Water 3/4" 971 CF x $0.00960 $9.32 Water Services Metered Water 3/4" $8.22 Metered Water 3/4" 233 CF x $0.00940 $2.19 Current usage 664 - Metered Water 3/4" $36.42 Previous period 1869 Metered Water 3/4" $8.22 ONE YEAR AGO 12243 $10019 Wastewater Customer Charge. Wastewater $45.36 $45.36 Solid Waste