HomeMy WebLinkAbout4E - Water & Storm Water FeesCONSENT AGENDA #:
PREPARED BY:
SUBJECT:
DATE:
INTRODUCTION:
DISCUSSION:
4 (e)
RALPH TESCHNER, FINANCE DIRECTOR
CONSIDER ORDINANCE AMENDING PRIOR LAKE CITY CODE
TITLE 9 CHAPTERS 4, 5 & 7
JANUARY 3, 1995
There are a number of enterprise fund fees that are established within the
Prior Lake City Code which require an ordinance amendment to change.
Therefore the enclosed ordinance has been drafted to incorporate increases
for the following charges:
City WAC (connection fee)
City SAC (connection fee)
Water Tower Charge
MWCC SAC (reserve capacity charge)
Sewer Billing Rate
Capital Facility Charge
Also there are a number of miscellaneous housekeeping changes that are
requested to either streamline the administration process or provide
enforcement measures necessary to implement code provisions.
The increases, as indicated within the proposed ordinance amendment, are
outlined below:
FEE DESCRIPTION
CURRENT PROPOSED
Water Connectibn Fee
Sewer Connection Fee
Water Tower Fee
~CC SAC (mandatory)
Sewer Billing Rate
Capital Facility Charge
$450.00 $500.00
$450.00 $500.00
$600.00 $700.00
$800.00 $850.00
$2.30 $2.70
$5.00 $7.50
The proposed combined City connection fees of $1000 are in line with the
average ($1235) of those charged by cities of 10-20,000 population as
listed in the most recent AMM License & Permit Survey.
The water tower bonds are revenue bonds which are repaid by a charge on
the building permit for new construction. Debt service for 1995 is
approximately $168,000 which would require approximately 240
connections @ $700 to support. Our projections are closer to 225,
however we have a reserve balance to pick up the difference.
4629 Dakota St. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245
AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The Metropolitan Waste Control Commission is responsible for
establishing the metro areawide SAC charge which basically has been
increased by $50.00 incremental steps each year for the past six years.
This charge is therefore adopted by reference within our City Code.
In addition, the MWCC payment the City makes on a monthly basis for
treatment has increased by nearly $94,000. In order for us to recover this
additional cost a sewer rate billing increase of 40 cents per thousand
gallons ($2.30 to $2.70) is necessary. Based upon an estimate of 350
million gallons billed in 1995, sewer revenue at this new rate would
generate income of $945,000. The approved sewer department budget for
next year is $943,935.
Remaining revenue attributed to sewer within the enterprise fund budget
ie., connection fees and interest earnings are appropriated to fund its share
of the general fund contribution transfer of $175,000. No water rate
increase is anticipated as water revenue is sufficient to cover expenses.
According to a 1994 Utility Rate Survey (see attached copy) of 148 cites
conducted by the City of Luverne, the monthly cost for 6,000 gallons of
water/sewer ranged as follows:
WATER
Highest Monthly Cost
Lowest Monthly Cost
Average Monthly Cost
Prior Lake's Cost
Prior Lake's Rank
$28.24
$3.40
$11.13
$6.30
140th
SEWER
Highest Monthly Cost
Lowest Monthly Cost
Average Monthly Cost
Prior Lake's Cost
Prior Lake's Rank
$58.00
$4.14
$14.70
$13.80
62nd
Based upon our new proposed rate for sewer, the monthly bill for 6000
gallons in 1995 would move to $16.20. As is readily apparent our water
rate compares extremely favorabl~ with those survey participants. The
reason is most likely due to the fact that we do not have a water treatment
plant. However, there are a fair number of similar metro cities such as
Brooklyn Center, Columbia Heights, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope
etc. that do not treat yet have a higher cost than Prior Lake.
The capital facility charge (CFAC) which was initiated by the Council to
finance a new public works garage facility is recommended to increase
from $5.00 to $7.50 bi-monthly to produce in excess of $180,000 annually
based upon 4000 plus water billing accounts. This revenue stream would
be necessary to repay the debt associated with $2,100,000 lease financing
obligations for the construction of the public works facility in 1995. A
cash flow analysis (see attached copy) was prepared by the City's fiscal
consultant Steve Mattson of Juran & Moody Inc. showing the required
annual lease purchase payments.
The attached ordinance amendment incorporates the above fee changes in
addition to the following:
9-4-4 (A) Water Meter Seals:
The requirement of a seal for meters installed only in new construction
homes and businesses is intended to deter tampering with respect to meter
removal and the use of jumper pipes.
9-4-5 (F) Elimination of ContracWr Deferment of Permit Fees:
Staff is requesting that this particular provision, affecting contractors only,
be deleted to increase efficiency of administering system connections. The
intent of this section of the ordinance is to allow residents in project areas
relief by spreading the cost of the connection permit over a period of three
years for those that do not have the money to pay the entire sum up front.
However in the case of builders, the deferment only lasts on average for 6
to 9 months until the sale closing.
Recordkeeping within the building inspection, finance and water billing
departments for these short term deferments is time consuming. The
majority of contractors do not utilize this option and it would be of greater
benefit to the city from a personnel and cash flow standpoint to require
full payment of building permit fees at time of application.
9-4-10 (A) 5. Water Service Termination Due to Entry Refusal
It is important that the City be able to verify meter readings and the
operation accuracy of the meters themselves. In such an event that a
property owner would refuse entry, the water service should be subject to
shut-off to prevent the situation of unmetered water usage.
9.7.6 Storm Water Fee Penalty Deletion
Presently the City charges a 10% penalty for late payment on the sewer
and water portion of the water bill. Most cities charge interest versus a
penalty for payment delinquency which ends up being considerably less.
Because the penalty application to the water billing is fairly stiff the small
fiat charges such as the CFAC and $3.75 storm water fee were not
intended to be subject to the penalty.
Currently we do not charge a penalty on either because the ordinance does
not authorize one for CFAC and to be consistent, the penalty provision for
the storm water fee should be removed since it was inadvertently included
when the original ordinance was drafted. Not only does exempting these
smaller fees help from a customer relations standpoint it mitigates the
greater impact of a penalty versus interest charge without diminishing the
incentive to pay on time.
Also, any credit balance whether due to prepayment or overpayment
should be refunded to the customer upon leaving rather than retained by
the City as a credit for the new customer. This entire language was
included from a model ordinance and is inappropriate.
ALTERNATIVES:
RECOMMENDATION:
ACTION REQUIRED:
REVIEWED BY:
The following alternatives are available to the City Council:
1. Adopt the ordinance as drafted as part of the consent agenda
after determining that no one wishes to discuss the issue.
.
Approve the ordinance subject to any specific Council
amendments after removing the item from the consent
agenda for discussion.
3. Delay action on the ordinance if additional information is
required by the Council.
Staff would recommend that the City Council approve either Alternative
gl or g2. These charges would then become effective for all building
permits issued beginning January 9, 1995 while the new sewer rate and
ordinance modifications would be implemented for the most part upon the
2/1/95 water bills which represents the first billing cycle of the year.
otion~f'app~
~s~:¢ the Ordinance Amending Prior Lake City Code Title
/~ part of the consent agenda would be in order.
WATER 1 .WRT
CITY of PRIOR LAKE
ORDINANCE NO. 95-01
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PRIOR LAKE CITY CODE TITLE 9, CHAPTERS 4, 5 AND 7.
The City Council of the City of Prior Lake does hereby ordain:
Section 9-4-4 (A) and the first sentence of 9-4-4 (C) of the Prior Lake City Code is hereby amended to
read as follows:
9-4-4: Connection Permits:
(A)
A permit must be obtained to connect to existing water service leads at the stop box.
Whenever the water service connections are connected to the stop box, the owner must
also simultaneously install the properly sized meter. "Upon installation, a seal shall be
affixed to the water meter. Unless authorized by the City, breakage and/or removal of
such seal shall be subject to a penalty of one hundred dollars ($100.00)." The fee for
such permit issued shall be determined at the discretion of the City Council.
(c)
A connection fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be charged per unit connected
subject to an adjustment as determined by the City Council.
II.
Section 9-4-5 (F) of the Prior Lake City Code is hereby deleted as follows:
9-4-5: Payment of Permit Fees:
(F)
Any-~esident-iaN~ui~der-e~nstm¢ting-a-~esiden6a~mnit-~r-units-whieh-am-to-be-~ered-f~r-
sate ~n-spe¢u~ati~n-wi~-a-designated-pu~¢hase~-may'-up~n-app~ieat-i~n-to-t-he-Ci~y~e¢ei-ve-
a defemaent- of- water- mad- sewer- availability- fees- until- suer- time- as- the- water- is- to- be-
mined on-ga-said-residential-unit. 2~aen-said-buitder-must-pay-the-ent-i{e-amoun~
III.
Section 9-4-10 (A) & (B) of the Prior Lake City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
9-4-10: Water Rates; Water Tower Charge; Delinquency:
(A)
2. "There shall be a capital facility charge (CFAC) established per two month billing
period for use by the City for sewer and water capital property purchases. The CFAC
charge shall be determined by the City Council on an annual basis. The following
capital facility charge fee schedule is effective upon the water billings beginning
February of each year as follows:
$5.00 for 1992
$7.50 for 1995
5. Residents failing to return their meter reading for two (2) consecutive billing periods
will be billed a ten dollar ($10.00) service charge and the City will read the meter. "In the
event the outside meter register is removed or disabled and a property owner refuses
entry by city maintenance personnel for the purpose of verifying or obtaining a correct
meter reading, the water service may be terminated by the City due to the occurrence of
unmetered water usage."
(B)
Water Tower Charge:
1. The water tower charge shall be determined on an annual basis in accordance with a
fee schedule effective January 1 of each year as determined by the City Council. The
following fee schedule is effective through calendar year 1995:
$150.00 for 1973 $250.00 for 1984
$150.00 for 1974 $250.00 for 1985
$150.00 for 1975 $250.00 for 1986
$150.00 for 1976 $250.00 for 1987
$150.00 for 1977 $350.00 for 1988
$150.00 for 1978 $350.00 for 1989
$150.00 for 1/1/79 - 07/31/79 $400.00 for 1990
$200.00 for 8/1/79 - 12/31/79 $400.00 for 1991
$200.00 for 1980 $500.00 for 1992
$200.00 for 1981 $500.00 for 1993
$200.00 for 1982 $600.00 for 1994
$250.00 for 1983 $700.00 for 1995
Said fees shall be placed in a fund maintained by the City to accumulate funds for the
construction of future water storage facilities and needed future wells.
IV.
The first sentence of Section 9-5-5 (B) of the Prior Lake City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
9-5-5: Connection Permits:
(B)
A connection fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be charged per unit connected
subject to an adjustment as determined by the City Council.
The first sentence of Section 9-5-9 (A) and the last sentence of Section 9-5-9 (C) of the Prior Lake City
Code are hereby amended to read as follows:
9-5-9: Sewer Use Rates; Delinquency:
(A)
Rates: Effective February 1, 1995, a billing charge of two dollars seventy cents ($2.70)
per one thousand (1,000) gallons of water consumption.
(c)
Separate Metering ... The charges for said usage shall be two dollars and seventy cents
($2.70) per one thousand (1,000) gallons of sewage flow during the period set forth
above.
VI.
Section 9-5-10 (B) of the Prior Lake City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
9-5-10: Sewer Service Availability and SAC Charges:
(B) Establishment of Charges: For the purpose of paying costs of reserve capacity allocated
to the City each year by the Metropolitan Sewer Board, there is hereby established a
charge for:
1. The availability of treatment works and interceptors comprising the metropolitan
disposal system; and
2. Connections, direct and indirect, to the metropolitan disposal system.
The charge imposed on each building or structure in the City, and each connection to the
metropolitan disposal system directly or through the City's system, inside any sewer
service area established by the Metropolitan Sewer Board, construction of which
commenced on or after January 1, 1973. The charge shall be payable upon the issuance of
a building permit or a connection permit, as the case may be, but no charge shall be due
upon the issuance of a connection permit if a charge was paid upon issuance of a building
permit. The charge for each building or structure shall be equal to the number of units of
sewage volume which it will discharge, multiplied by the following:
$275.00 for 1973 $475.00 for 1985
$300.00 for 1974 $475.00 for 1986
$325.00 for 1975 $525.00 for 1987
$350.00 for 1976 $525.00 for 1988
$375.00 for 1977 $575.00 for 1989
$400.00 for 1978 $600.00 for 1990
$425.00 for 1979 $650.00 for 1991
$425.00 for 1980 $700.00 for 1992
$425.00 for 1981 $750.00 for 1993
$425.00 for 1982 $800.00 for 1994
$425.00 for 1983 $850.00 for 1995
$425.00 for 1984
A unit of sewage volume shall be determined by the Metropolitan Waste Control
Commission (MWCC).
1. Single-family houses, iownhouses and duplex units shall comprise one unit.
2. Condominiums and apartments shall each comprise eighty percent (80%) of a unit.
3. Mobile homes shall each comprise eighty percent (80%) of a unit.
VII.
Section 9-7-6 of the Prior Lake City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:
9-7-6: Payment of Fee:
Storm water management fee shall be invoiced bi-monthly. The amount due as shown on
the invoice shall be payable on or before the twentieth of the month in which the invoice
is issued. A- penal4y- of- tea- percent- ~4 0~b)- per- bi-monthly- fee- shat~- be- assessed- to- a~
a¢¢o~nt-s that-a~e~n~t-paid~in~f~4-by~the~d~e~date:-~Dae~pena~-y~sha~-be~e~mputed~n-the-
~mpaid balance-by-the-dae-date-at--the-t4me-each-bi-mont-hly-smtement-is-pmpa~ed~-Any-
p~epaymen~ o~-oYe~ayment-of-¢ha~ges-shal4-be-~etained-by-the-Cix-y-and-apptied-against-
subseel~em fee:
This ordinance shall become effective from and after its passage and publication.
Passed by the City Council of the City of Prior Lake this ~ day of
,1995.
ATTEST:
City Manager Mayor
Published in the Prior Lake American on the
WATER I.WRT
day of ,1995
1994 Utility Rate Survey
Communities in Minnesota
with a population over 2,500
City of Luveme
203 East Main Street
PO Box 659
Luveme, MN 56156
(507) 283-2388
WATER
The results are reported in an alphabetical listing as well as a listing by monthly cost
in descending order.
The water cost represents the Residential monthly cost for 6000 gallons of water (8
units, 800 cubic feet). The cost is intended to include appropriate monthly customer
charges and any other miscellaneous fee.
If water is treated the number of treatment plants in included as reported by the
responding City.
The depth is the average depth of wells as reported by the City. Last Increase is the
date of the most recent rate increase as used to determine the monthly cost in this
survey.
Some cities responded to only certain portions of the survey so there may no
information reported in some of the results.
There were 148 cities that provided information on water cost and the other related
information.
Highest monthly cost reported
28.24 per month
Lowest monthly cost reported
3.40 per month
Average monthly cost 11.13 per month
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SEWER
The results are reported in an alphabetical listing as well as listing by monthly cost
in descending order.
The Sewer cost represent the residential cost for sewer based on 6000 gallons of
water (8 units, 800 cubic feet). The cost is intended to include appropriate monthly
customer charges and any other miscellaneous fees.
Some cities responded to only certain portions of the survey so there may be no
information reported in some of the results.
There were 151 cities that responded to sewer cost and other related information.
Highest monthly cost reported
58.00 per month
Lowest monthly cost reported
4.14 per month
Average monthly cost
14.70 per month
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