10A Action 2011 0919 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

that end, the City Council directed staff to prepare and implement policies and procedures to legally create a program that would reimburse rate payers affected by this particular City sewerage system activity. The City would like to change the purpose of previously approved rated towards the reimbursement of costs to reconnect private sewer laterals to City maintained sanitary sewers when the City finds it is in the interest of public health and safety to relocate City sewerage systems (primarily City sewer main lines). Staff believes that a program could be fully funded by the previously approved rate increases, such that no rate increase is necessary or anticipated. In an abundance of caution, the City Council determined that before such a program is created the City should comply with the procedural requirements of Prop. 218. In accordance with the procedures in Prop. 218, the City will do the following: 1. Identify the parcels upon which the previously approved rate increases applied. 2. Provide written notice by mail of the proposed change to the record owner of each identified parcel upon which the rate repurpose is proposed for imposition. 3. Insure that the notice provides the reason for the repurposing of the previously approved rate increases; and the date, time and location of the public hearing where affected rate payers may submit their protest to the proposal. The City must conduct a public hearing on the proposed rate repurpose at least 45 days after mailing the notice described above. The date of the hearing is November 21, 2011. The hearing will be conducted in the following manner: (1) at the public hearing, the City must consider all written protests against the rate repurpose; and (2) if a written protest against the proposed rate repurpose is presented by a majority of owners of the identified parcels, the City may not create a fund to deposit previously approved rate increases towards the new purpose. This requires a majority of all affected property owners to protest the fee under the traditional "silence equals consent rule." Only one protest per parcel may be counted in determining whether a majority protest exists. DISCUSSION To determine the sewer rate impact from the proposed sewer lateral connection policy, staff input fresh data into the current rate model. The five year rate schedule adopted by the City Council last year was based on assumptions about the cost and financing of the wastewater treatment plant rehabilitation project. For this rate model run, staff was able to enter in actual project bid amounts and financing rates. Both the actual project bid amount and financing rates were lower than the assumed numbers. As a result, there is capacity for the Water Pollution Control Fund to absorb the potential costs for reimbursing property owners for reconstructing private sewer laterals when the City requires reconnection to a new main line. The resolution presented for City Council approval authorizes staff to mail the required notice of the proposed change in purpose of previously approved sewer and wastewater treatment rate 1 The City Council previously approved rate increases in 2010 for sewer /wastewater treatment services to fund continued maintenance and operations, as well as seismic repairs and comprehensive modernization of the wastewater treatment facility.