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215 Chair Cihacek agreed the rate for use of over 30,000 gallons should be raised <br />216 dramatically. It will not impact many customers, but it will show a conservation <br />217 effort. If a person is going to use 100 percent more than the average household, <br />218 they should pay substantially more. He suggested they raise the rate by 30 or 40 <br />219 percent. <br />220 <br />221 Member Seigler stated he wants to see the numbers first and who is using what <br />222 before they propose a rate hike. He does not agree that someone with more kids <br />223 should have a 30 percent increase on their water bill. <br />224 <br />225 Mr. Freihammer responded he does not know the history of how the breakdown <br />226 was originally determined, but they should be able to provide a quarterly analysis <br />227 to answer some of these questions. <br />228 <br />229 Chair Cihacek agreed they can look at the rate structure based on more data, but he <br />230 does not know if they should subsidize large households. They have more <br />231 infrastructure needs than what the current cost represents. <br />232 <br />233 Member Seigler stated they are already charging an additional cost to address <br />234 infrastructure needs. <br />235 <br />236 Mr. Freihammer stated the water usage rate covers the cost of water from SPRWS <br />237 and the base rate covers the infrastructure needs. The amount of water through a <br />238 pipe does not wear it down faster, but more usage may require a bigger pipe. <br />239 <br />240 Member Misra inquired if they know why usage had been going down and if they <br />241 have information on the difference between summer and winter residential usage. <br />242 The real high users are probably not large families. She agreed they should look at <br />243 a rate adjustment for high volume users in an effort to encourage conservation. <br />244 <br />245 Mr. Freihammer responded people are a little more water conscious and appliances <br />246 are more water efficient. There is a significant difference in usage between summer <br />247 and winter, and there is also a significant difference with a dry versus wet summer. <br />248 <br />249 Commissioner Trainor commented the opportunity to make a recommendation to <br />250 Council on the rate structure was at the last meeting and the purpose of this meeting <br />251 is to provide a recommendation on the rates for neat year. <br />252 <br />253 Chair Cihacek stated half of the Commission supports changing the rate for usage <br />254 over 30,000 gallons and they could try to come up with some changes. They could <br />255 also provisionally accept this rate structure, get more information, and look at the <br />256 2019 rates. <br />257 <br />258 Member Seigel stated they need more information and he would like to look at what <br />259 other cities do before they decide what to do with the rates. <br />260 <br />Page 6 of 14 <br />