Title
Resolution Directing the City Administrator to Develop and Present to Council by March 31, 2019* a List of Feasible Alternatives to Revise the Recently-Adopted Water Rate Re-structuring Ordinance to Mitigate the Adverse Impacts of the Ordinance on Single-Family Residential Customers (*Title corrected to reflect amended date)
Body
Whereas, In a March 2018 work session, City staff presented to Council a proposal to re-structure City water rates that subsequently generated a significant amount of resident concerns, questions, and opposition;
Whereas, City Council adopted the controversial proposal on a contested (7-4) vote on June 18, 2018 and the re-structured rates became effective on July 1, 2018:
Whereas, The most significant revisions in the re-structuring were (1) establishing a new multi-family customer class (2) adding a fourth volume-based tier to single-family residential rates and (3) eliminating the tiers in the commercial customer class;
Whereas, The water rate re-structuring was revenue neutral to the City, but shifted approximately $2 million of annual costs from multi-family customers to single-family residential customers;
Whereas, The City has indicated that water utility rate increases in the 6% to 10% range are planned for January 1, 2019, July 1, 2019 and the following couple of fiscal years before leveling off at increases more approximating inflation, and the cumulative effect on single-family customers of those increases - on top of the re-structuring-related increase July 1, 2018 of 10-20% (or more) - is dramatic with customers paying 50%+ more in five years' time;
Whereas, A fundamental premise underlying the re-structuring proposal is that volume peaking drives costs, yet the re-structuring proposal is internally inconsistent in its application of that logic - the proposal expands volume-based price tiering for single-family residential (adds a fourth tier), but eliminates the tiers in the commercial customer class where th...
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