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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, August 17, 2015 Page 14 the intent was to use a means test for eligibility, Councilmember McGehee opined that people would not seek the subsidy as they were too proud to do so. Councilmember McGehee opined that the underground utility infrastructure should be treated the same way as funded similar to the PMP program for street improvement. Councilmember McGehee proceeded to review comparisons for the benefit of the Finance Commission based on consumption, opining that the current system didn't provide any conservation incentives and therefore placed an unfair burden on those using the least amount of water and penalizing those who used more water. Councilmember McGehee reviewed her idea for potential alter- native funding for the water infrastructure and estimated cost impacts for those options over a twenty-year period. Councilmember McGehee also displayed a proposed tiered system for water usage to encourage conservation by restructuring rates, also providing more simplicity and transparency in pricing while retaining stable funding spread across the tax base. Councilmember McGehee displayed examples of rate structures used by the Cities of Shoreview and St. Paul compared to that used by Roseville. Councilmember McGehee asked that the Finance Commission look at her data from their perspective. Mayor Roe clarified that advisory commissions received their charge from the perspective of the City Council as a whole,not individual Councilmembers. From his personal perspective, Mayor Roe spoke in support of the fairness of the current system using the same base fee to cover water service based on his analy- sis. While the initial change to this rate structure was significant for the commu- nity, Mayor Roe noted it had been implemented in two phases in 2011 and 2012 to make it more feasible. Mayor Roe acknowledged that the initial change in the rate structure startled many in the community, but once they understood the basis for it, there was no ongoing outcry and it provided a much more transparent fee through water and sewer fees versus from levy support or bonding. When com- paring the potential annual levy increase for an average household, Mayor Roe stated his difficulty in understanding how a homeowner could come out ahead us- ing Councilmember McGehee's proposal based on his analysis. Mayor Roe stat- ed he was not supportive of looking further at this proposal; and expressed his concern that this reverted to the old rate structure where heavy users subsidized other users without the base cost covering the actual cost of providing services. Councilmember Laliberte agreed with Mayor Roe, recognizing that while the rate structure changes made in 2011 and 2012 were difficult, it created a transparent system even though it made it difficult to compare rates with other communities using a different structure that didn't build in capital and infrastructure in their base rate. Councilmember Laliberte also noted the considerable time discussing