The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutF- 5 Water Rate Adjustment o 044* ZUS TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: JOE HSU, DIRECTOR OF UTILITIES VIA: RICK COLE, CITY MANAGER fix- DATE: DATE: APRIL 2, 2001 SUBJECT: WATER RATE ADJUSTMENT RECOMMENDATION It is recommended City Council adopt a resolution approving the proposed water rate adjustment. BACKGROUND The Water utility, in general, is a very capital intensive operation. Its capital infrastructure is primarily underground pipelines which are expensive to replace both in material and labor costs. On the operation and maintenance side, the ever changing health regulations are also driving up the costs. And the third cost component is the cost of water itself - energy to pump or treat the water and cost of purchasing replacement water. Azusa uses a traditional rate making practice to insure adequate revenues for operations, maintenance, and capital improvements. Azusa water rates also consist of a component called the Water Replacement Cost Adjustment Factor that allows an annual adjustment based on the Safe Yield of the Main San Gabriel Basin established annually by the Water Master. This component in the rate structure allows the Azusa Water Utility the ability to adjust the tariff to reflect the cost of replacement water without affecting the base rate structure, and it is done after the Water Master sets the safe yield in June each year. The reason for the proposed rate adjustment is to recover $3.4 million capital investments in the water system over the past fiscal year and to cover anticipated increases in operating costs. The proposed net increase across the board is 3.38% both in Service Charges and in Commodity Rates. With this increase, the typical residential monthly water cost will be increased by about $1.65 per month. A comparative spread sheet showing bi-monthly water costs charged by various water utilities in the San Gabriel Valley is attached for your reference. FISCAL IMPACT The recommended adjustment of 3.38% to the existing water rates, across-the-board, will increase retail water revenue by approximately $446,000 annually. The estimated revenue to the General Fund in the form of a franchise fee, in-lieu tax, and utility users tax will be about $58,000 annually. Attachments Water Utility Service Rates- March, 2001 (Highest to lowest) Period Typical Meter Service Other Unit Rate Agency Bi- Monthly Agency Size Charge Charges per ccf Billing Period Bill (@17 ccf/mo) City of LaVerne 3/4" $12.60 $30.00 Pressure Zoned Bi Monthly $90.51 Miramar *Avg $1.409 Debt Service So Cal Water(Claremont) 3/4" $20.60 $1.3800 Monthly $88.12 So Cal Water(San Dimas) 3/4" $16.80 $1.5300 Monthly $85.62 Rowland Water 3/4" $16.35 Pressure Zoned Bi Monthly $70.47 *Avg $1.5917 Suburban (West Covina) 3/4" $11.92 Tiered Monthly $64.79 0-1800 ccf $1.2043 1800 +ccf $1.3373 Cal Am Water Co (Duarte) 3/4" $12.53 $1.0966 Monthly $62.34 City of Monrovia 3/4" $11.00 $0.9600 Monthly $54.64 Suburban Water Co, (coy) 3/4" $9.90 Tariff Areas Monthly $53.53 *Avg. $0.992 City of Covina 3/4" $20.66 $0.9200 Bi Monthly $51.94 City of Alhambra 5/8" $9.50 Tiered Bi Monthly $49.12 0-12ccf $1.11 13-20ccf $1.17 21+ccf $1.21 City of Azusa (proposed) 3/4" $10.75 Tiered Monthly $47.51 0-17ccf $0.765 17+ccf $1.21 City of Azusa (current) 3/4" $10.40 Tiered Monthly $45.96 0-17ccf $0.74 17+ccf $1.17 City of Glendora 3/4" $10.50 *Avg $0.95 Bi Monthly $42.80 City of Monterey Park 3/4" $9.08 min Tiered Monthly $38.84 incl. 6 ccf 6-20ccf $.94 20 +ccf $1.25 Typical bill based upon 1"service, bi-monthly service, 34 units per billing period *Average of zone tariffs RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA AMENDING THE SCHEDULE OF WATER RATES AND CHARGES FOR THE AZUSA LIGHT AND WATER DEPARTMENT WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 78-36 and Section 78-37 of the Azusa Municipal Code, the rates and charges of the City of Azusa water utility are set by a Resolution passed by the Council, WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 15079.1 of the guidelines for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) stipulates that the review provisions of CEQA do not apply to matters of government finance when the funds are for (1) meeting operating expenses; (2) purchasing or leasing supplies, equipment or materials; (3) meeting financial reserve needs and requirements; and (4) obtaining funds for capital projects necessary to maintain a service within existing service areas, and WHEREAS, IN ORDER TO MEET EXPENSES, THE City of Azusa has an urgent need to review the schedule of rates and charges for the City of Azusa's Water Utility, and WHEREAS, the proposed revisions by nature pertain to government finance in meeting operating expenses and obtaining funds for capital projects necessary to sustain and maintain water service within existing service areas, NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AZUSA DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. The City's schedule of rates and charges for its Water Utility are hereby amended to read as on Exhibit A which is attached to this Resolution and made a part of it, and Section 2. The review provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act do not apply to these amendments. Section 3. The amended rates and charges of the city of Azusa Water Utility shall take effect for all bills rendered on or after May 1 , 2001 . Section 4. The City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this Resolution. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS DAY OF , 2001 . MAYOR I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing Resolution was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Azusa at a regular meeting thereof, held on the day of , 2001 bu the following vote of the Council: EXHIBIT "A" WATER RATE SCHEDULE The following schedule of rates is fixed and established as the rates to be collected by the City of Azusa Light & Water Department for supplying water to its customers within the certificated service territories of the City of Azusa. I. METER SERVICE CHARGE The basic monthly meter service charge for water supplied to domestic, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers by the City of Azusa Light & Water Department shall be as follows: (Current) (Proposed) Service Size Monthly Charge Monthly Charge 5/8" - 3/4" $ 10.40 $ 10.75 1" $ 18.10 $ 18.71 1.5" $ 33,24 $ 34.36 2" $ 53.13 $ 54.93 3" $101.24 $104.66 4" $163.59 $169.12 6" $288.22 $297.96 8" $416.94 $431.03 10" $545.80 $564.25 12" $652.10 $705.16 IL COMMODITY CHARGE The commodity charge is measured in increments of cubic feet. One cubic foot is 7.48 gallons of water. Each unit of water is billed as 100 cubic feet or 748 gallons. One hundred cubic feet is commonly referred to as CCF. Each meter size is allotted a quantity of water considered to be average for that size of service, units in excess of that allotment represents a higher use of the facilities of the water system, and therefore are billed according to the commodity rate schedule. (Current) (Proposed) Service Size Units Rate Rate 5/8" - 3/4" - 1" 0 - 17 CCF $0.74 $0.765 > 17 CCF $1.17 $1.21 1.5" - 2" 0 - 50CCF $0.74 $0.765 > 50 CCF $1.17 $1.21 3" - 4" 0 - 200 CCF $0.74 $0.765 > 200 CCF $1.17 $1.21 6" - 12" 0 - 600 CCF $0.74 $0.765 > 600 CCF $1.17 $1.21 Golf Course $0.91 $0.94 M. MINIMUM CHARGE The minimum charge shall be the monthly meter service charge. N. FIRE SERVICE CHARGE Fire service connections are provided for fire protection only. If a fire service is used for any purpose other than for fire fighting, an minimum charge of fifty dollars ($52.55) (proposed$54.33, fifty-four dollars and thirty-three cents) shall be assessed in addition to the commodity charge for the actual amount of water used. If a fire service customer uses a fire service for other than emergency fire fighting repeatedly, the customer, upon notice of the water utility manager, may be disconnected from service for violation of the intended use of a fire service connection. The monthly charge for said fire service shall be seven dollars, $7.36, (proposed $7.61, seven dollars and sixty-one cents) per pipe diameter-inch. V. LIFELINE RATE Upon written application to the Light & Water Department, a water customer who meets the following standards is eligible for a two dollar ($2.00) (proposed $2.10) discount from the basic monthly meter service charge. The Lifeline Rate may only be extended to City of Azusa residents. 1. The customer must be either: a. 62 years of age or older; or b. Disabled within the definition of 20 C.F.R. 404.1505 and presently receiving disability Social Security benefits. 2. The customer must be a resident of a single-family dwelling unit with a water meter no larger than 3/4". 3. The customer shall have been a water customer at the service address for at least the previous twelve months prior to the application for the lifeline rate. 4. The customer's household income is at or below sixty percent (60%) of the Los Angeles County median income level. 5. Low-income customers who qualify for the lifeline rate shall re-apply every twelve months. If OF Alt Off' AZUSA AGENDA ITEM TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: ROBERT K. PERSON, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER /alp VIA: RICK COLE, CITY MANAGER rte''' DATE: APRIL 2, 2001 SUBJECT: SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE LONG RANGE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS (CIP) BUDGET 2001-2005 RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council approve the second amendment to the long range capital improvement projects (CIP) budget by transferring $10,000 of Year 2000 funds for 2001 funding of the "Library Bookshelf" project. BACKGROUND On January 16, 2001 City Council approved the 2001-2005 long range capital improvement projects (CIP) budget which funded $1 1,719,529 in capital needs. On March 20, 2001 City Council approved the first amendment to this budget by adding $1,412,400 for additional projects. This action will increase this budget by an additional $10,000 in previously approved funds that were not carried over to this year. The project consists of reinforcing the library's bookshelves in case of an earthquake. The project is in the process of being completed and requires this action in order to process payment to the selected contractor. FISCAL IMPACT The $10,000 for this project have been previously approved in a prior year CIP but were not expended. This action simply carries over the funds to complete this project and increases the total 2001 CIP from $13,131,929 to $13,141,929. The Public Works Element of the CIP will be increased accordingly from $668,845 to $678,845. %12f