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With Member Lenz referencing the comparisons rates for Edina, Mr. Miller <br />responded that they probably had less balance in residential and commercial <br />customers, and shifted more to the commercial side than the City of Roseville did. <br />However, Mr. Miller noted that the City of Edina's tax base was also bigger and <br />stronger than that of Roseville even though per capita Roseville was pretty good, <br />Edina had more residential and commercial/retail customers by comparison. To <br />their credit, Mr. Miller recognized that the City of Edina had a strong reputation as <br />a pretty well-run city. <br />Member Seigler asked if the City Council had ever said no to a rate increase <br />recommended by staff. <br />Mr. Miller responded that in certain areas they certainly had, perhaps not a <br />definitive "no" to any increase but had chosen relief to various utility funds. Mr. <br />Miller advised that staffs goal was to work in concert with the City Council, and <br />clarified that everyone, whether Councilmembers, advisory commissioners, <br />residents or retail/commercial business owners were very well aware at this point <br />of the long-term CIP needs in Roseville. Mr. Miller noted it was staffs role to <br />provide them with sufficient details, and generally the City Council and staff were <br />on the same page based on ongoing analyses and without many surprises. Mr. <br />Miller opined Councilmembers and taxpayers were very well informed in Roseville <br />of utility operations. <br />Member Wozniak asked Mr. Miller to talk about customer inquiries it typically <br />fielded about rates, complaints or questions, residential or commercial, and whether <br />most residents appeared to be happy with this current rate structure. <br />Mr. Miller responded that staff heard little from retail/commercial customers <br />beyond asking for rate projections for the next year as they work on their budgets. <br />With residential customers, Mr. Miller reported that they typically paid a lot of <br />attention to their utility bills and noticed any rate differences despite advanced <br />notice. Mr. Miller advised that it was typical for staff to be flooded with phone <br />calls at the beginning of their billing year, and staff walked them through, with the <br />result that sometimes they felt that rationale was reasonable and other times not. <br />Mr. Miller admitted that staff often dealt with a lot of difficult customers, but <br />opined it came with the job, and staff tried to stay patient. Sometimes, Mr. Miller <br />reported, it was necessary for tempers to cool and a follow-up phone call was made <br />by staff to a customer for further review. Mr. Miller stated that most residents <br />noticed any fluctuation in their utility bill, projecting them even noticing the <br />proposed 2016 rate of only 80 cents/month at 1.5%, while some typically don't. <br />Mr. Miller noted it was no secret that there were a fair number of retirees in <br />Roseville, and they followed their utility bills very closely. <br />Page 11 of 18 <br />