Agenda Item 8FCITY OF ATL AN TI C BEACH
CITY COM MI SS IO N MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM II SF
JAN UARY 13,20 14
AGEND A IT EM: Proposa l to amend th e Ci ty Code, Chapt er 22, Auth o rit y to adju st or waive
ch arges in appropriate cases for the purpos e o f makin g th e po licy more
generous.
DATE : Decemb er 6, 20 13
SU BMITTE D BY: Ne lson V anLi ere, Fi na nce Dir ecto r <b)
ST RAT EGI C PL AN LINK: N/A
BACKGROU ND:
As is cus tomary for mos t utilities, it is th e Cit y's poli cy to adju st util ity bill s fo r ex cess ive
co nsumpti on fo r leaks or pool fill s. Th e in clinin g bl oc k rate stru c ture ado pt ed in 2004 is
designed to cha rge in creas in gly hi gh amo unt s per th ousa nd gall ons to disco urage was te l'ul usc.
In the case of a leak , or a poo l fill , th e othe rwi se low usage custo mer is pe na li zed fo r th e
excessive use as if they we re was teful, when in fac t th ey may be ve ry conserva ti on oriented .
When excess ive co nsumpti o n occurs, th e curre nt prac tice is to adju s t the bill am ount dow n by
chargin g th e ex cess ive ga ll o ns use d at lower vo lum e rate. Excess iv e is consid ered co ns ump tio n
abo ve a twel ve month average for th e loca ti on due to a docum ented lea k or a poo l fil l. Thi s
practi ce has bee n i n p lace for yea rs.
Throug h recent custo mer com plai nts, it has co me to our atte ntion th at the adju stm ent s given are
not trul y helpin g th e custo mer as mu ch as t he poli cy inte nde d. rn 2005, th e Cit y recogni zed th e
need to adju st bill s for hi gh co nsumpti o n as a res ul t of th e new ra te structur e and add ed
langu age to the co de to all ow for thi s . The decis ion made at th e tim e was to adjust bi lls down
to the second ti er ra te in stea d of the fir st ti er. Thi s still res ult s in a ver y large b111 fo r cus tome rs
th at ex peri ence leaks and atler prov id ing docum entati on and receivi ng an enotm o us bil l,
prov id es littl e re li ef.
S in ce the int e nt of th e hi ghe r bl ock rate is to en co urage co nserva ti on and not penali ze o th erwise
prud ent custo mers, it is my reco mm enda ti on th a t we amend the co de to all ow adju stm ent s fo r
excess ive cons umpti on down to th e fir st ti er. T he imp ac t to th e City will be to s li ghtl y lower
revenu es co ll ected fo r w ater and sewer vo lum e charg es by th e d if fe rence betwee n the fi rs t and
seco nd ti er rates. Th is redu ction sho ul d be easi ly ab so rb ed by th e util ity.
AGENDA ITEM# SF
JANUARY 13, 2014
Example; If a customer that averages 5k gallons a month has a toilet leak and uses 20k gallons,
he would see volume charges go from $24.14 to $119.25. Under the current code, we would
adjust the bill down to $99.58 resulting in a reduction of $19.67. This is very little help and
penalizes the customer who usually conserves water for a one-time occurrence of excessive
consumption due to a leak.
The proposed language would allow that same customer to have an adjustment of$73.37
bringing the volume charges down to $45.88.
The City made 18 adjustments in November including 8 toilet leaks, four pool fills and 6 slab or
line leaks. It would seem appropriate to adjust the accounts down to an amount that was more
in-line with the consumption history of the location than to burden the customer with an
excessively large bill for water that he/she did not intend to waste.
Suggested Code Modification:
Highlighted below are the necessary modifications to the current city code that would allow for
a more generous adjustment to be done.
Sec. 22-4. Authority to adjust or waive charges in appropriate cases.
(e)
Adjustment for leaks on consumer's side of meter. An adjustment may be
made to the rate charged for excessive water volume consumed as a result of a
leak on the user's side of the meter. The adjustment for water and sewer volume
charges would be based on water usage in excess of that location's average normal
monthly consumption for the previous twelve-month period. The adjusted rate for
those excess gallons used would be the rate in effect for the four (4) to eight (g)
zero (0) to three (3) thousand gallon usage per month block rate.
Also, an adjustment to the volume billed may be made to the sewer volume
portion of the utility bill as a result of a leak on the consumer side of the meter if
the water service was broken at the point where the discharge did not enter the
sanitary sewer system. The city shall decide the extent of the adjustment based on
water usage in excess of that location's average monthly usage for the previous
twelve-month period.
Any request for an adjustment for either water volume or sewer volume charges
must be accompanied by documentation of the leak, in a format acceptable to the
city.
No allowances will be made due to running water due to weather conditions.
(f)
AGENDA ITEM # 8F
JANUARY 13, 2014
Adjustments for filling a swimming pool. A one time, per owner, allowance or
adjustment of volume billed for gallons used may be made to the rate charged for
excessive water consumed as a result of filling a swimming pool. The adjustment
would be based on water usage in excess of that location's normal monthly usage
based on prior consumption history of the previous twelve-month period. The
adjusted water volume rate for those excess gallons used would be the rate in
effect for the fuur (4) to eight (8) zero (0) to three (3) thousand gallon usage per
month block rate. The sewer volume billed is to be adjusted down to the average
normal monthly usage.
Any request for an adjustment for water and sewer volume charges for filling a
swimming pool must be accompanied by documentation for a new pool or repair,
in a format acceptable to the city.
Budget: The Public Utility revenue budget should be able to absorb the revenue
loss from the additional adjustments. An annual estimate based on November's
adjustments would approximate a $20,000 revenue loss.
Recommendation: To direct staff to propose an ordinance amending the
portions of the City Code as described above.
ATTACHMENTS: None