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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday,February 11,2013 <br /> Page 29 <br /> wear out pipes faster to use more water, and that there was no more wear and tear <br /> from one to the other such as streets and roads; and therefore it didn't make sense <br /> to him to shift those infrastructure costs from base rates to usage fees, or to make <br /> them part of the tax levy. Mayor Roe suggested that the City of Roseville's mod- <br /> el may become the model for other cities in the future. <br /> City Manager Malinen, from a CIP perspective, noted that were zero dollars in the <br /> Water Fund due to the result of past reliance on variable usage to generate mon- <br /> ies; and when consumption went down and the City didn't get the money it ex- <br /> pected, but still had repairs and maintenance of the system, the Fund couldn't ac- <br /> commodate it. City Manager Malinen noted that, with the base rate as it now is, <br /> those fixed costs area addressed annually and was making the Fund stable. City <br /> Manager Malinen suggested that the current plan not be undone until there was <br /> some history to determine if it was working as indicated by the CIP Task Force. <br /> Councilmember McGehee agreed that the system had been mismanaged for thirty <br /> (30) years. Regarding the automatic read meters (ARM) and ability to view water <br /> usage at any time, Councilmember McGehee opined that there was no need to de- <br /> fer installation of those new meters; and suggested borrowing internally from the <br /> Storm Water Fund Reserve to have those automatic meters installed throughout <br /> the city immediately rather than systematically installing them in phases over the <br /> next four(4) years. <br /> City Manager Malinen advised that if that schedule was accelerated, it may need <br /> to be contracted out; and asked that the City Council consult with Public Works <br /> Director Duane Schwartz about related issues in expediting that installation. <br /> Public Works Director Duane Schwartz advised that of the $1.6 million projected <br /> for this installation, approximately $300,000 would be for contractual help to fin- <br /> ish the program over that period. <br /> Finance Director Miller added that if the expedited installation was done, it did <br /> not mean that the ARM system would be completed in-house at City Hall, since <br /> modification to billing customer accounts was required and the Finance Depart- <br /> ment was not equipped to process that now versus phased over four (4) years, re- <br /> quiring additional money for overtime to facilitate that additional workload. <br /> With Mr. Schwartz advising that the current phased-in project was for 2,000 in- <br /> stallations annually, Mr. Miller advised hat to accelerate that to 8,000 installations <br /> in one year, would require significant overtime to accomplish, and require his re- <br /> working of the Finance Department Work Plan. <br /> Mayor Roe noted that there would also be the additional interest for any internal <br /> loan. <br />