2014-10-28_PWETC_Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Miller noted staff's recommendation to the City Council for their consideration at their November meeting; and welcomed any thoughts and/or comments of the PWETC. At the request of Member Cihacek, Mr. Miller advised that there was some overlap in staffing among operations, but mostly split 50/50 and reflected in the tables. At the request of Member Seigler, Mr. Miller advised that property taxes were based on a typical single-family home, with median value for 2014 at $194,000, with that home's value increasing for 2015 by 11% to $210,000. Member Felice sought an update from staff on a tiered water rate to encourage residents to conserve water. Mr. Schwartz advised that the PWETC proposed a new rate structure to the City Council two years ago, that would add another tier for conservation rates. However, Mr. Schwartz reported that, at that time, the City Council chose not to go in that direction; and at the time actually suggested one rate, but staff had encouraged the City Council to retain the current two tiered rate structure until a longer term analysis could be done to see what if any impact it was having on consumption. At the request of Member Lenz, Mr. Miller reviewed the application process for residents seeking an income-based utility rate discount. For consistency purpose, Mr. Miller advised that the City was taking the opportunity to use other resources already doing an income verification process, namely Ramsey County, who offers a number of financial aid programs that are tied to a similar program being considered by the City of Roseville. Therefore, if a resident is already receiving financial assistance from Ramsey County, the City of Roseville relies on that income verification application process, and the resident will simply have to present a confirmation letter from Ramsey County that they had been accepted into such a program. With a copy of that letter provided to City staff, Mr. Miller advised that there was no need for the applicant to provide financial information to the City, simply the letter itself. Member Lenz expressed appreciation that there would not be any additional opportunity for data breaches using this method, Mr. Miller concurred, noting that this was one of the reasons the City had settled on this, in addition to no more tax dollars needed for staff to perform redundant income verification procedures. At the request of Member Seigler, Mr. Miller advised that the projected increase in 2015 of personnel costs at 3.4% was historically comparable to existing staff over the last 5-10 years, at around a 3% average increase when factoring in wages and benefits; with benefits typically representing 20% of wages. Mr. Miller noted Page 6 of 17