2010-10-26_PWETC_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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The 2011-2020 Capital Investment Plan call for an investment of nearly $1 million dollars per year in the City's sanitary sewer system. By comparison, the City is currently setting aside only $500,000 per year. To ensure that the City's sanitary sewer system infrastructure is replaced at the end of its useful life, sustained increases in the sewer rates will be necessary. The Sanitary Sewer Fund is in good financial condition which has allowed for lower-than-inflation rate increases over the last 5 years. Storm Water Drainage Operations Overview: The City provides for the management of storm water drainage to prevent flooding and pollution control, as well as street sweeping and the leaf pickup program. The storm sewer costs are expected to be higher than in previous years, due to an increase in the planned capital replacement of stormwater systems, as well as additional costs related to the addition of a Utilities Engineer. The 2011-20209 Capital Investment Plan calls for an investment of nearly $790,000 dollars per year in the City's sanitary sewer system. By comparison, the City is currently setting aside about $600,000 per year. To ensure that the City's stormwater system infrastructure is replaced at the end of its useful life, an increase in the stormwater rates will be necessary. Like the Sanitary Sewer Fund, the Storm Water Drainage Fund is in good financial condition which has allowed for lower-than-inflation rate increases over the last 5 years. Recycling Operations Overview: The recycling operation provides for the contracted curbside recycling pickup throughout the City. The primary operating cost is the amounts paid to a contractor to pickup recycling materials. The contractual agreement with the recycling contractor specifies that the City is to receive a portion of the monies generated from the re-sale of recycled materials. However, over the past year the City's revenue sharing portion has dropped dramatically from a high of $135,000 in 2008, to only $42,000 in 2009. Approximately $90,000 in revenue sharing monies is projected for 2011. The increase in program revenue sharing will be sufficient to avoid an increase in recycling fees charged to residents. Recommended Rates for 2011 Based on the rate impacts described above, Staff is recommending a rate increase for water, sewer, and storm sewer; and a rate decrease for recycling. With these suggested rate changes, a typical homeowner will pay approximately $127.83 per quarter, an increase of $5.73 or 4.7%. Additional detail is shown in the tables below. Single Family Homes Service 2010 2011 $ Change % Change Water -base fee $ 27.75 $ 30.55 $ 2.80 Water -usage fee 35.10 37.80 2.70 Sanitary Sewer -base fee 23.35 23.35 - Sanitary Sewer -usage fee 22.50 23.40 0.90 Storm Sewer 6.15 6.75 0.60 Recycling 7.25 6.00 (1.25) Total $122.10 $127.85 $ 5.75 4.7 ** Based on an average consumption of 18,000 gallons per quarter. 2