05/20/1985 Meeting (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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e e e ~ sewer funds to cover street sweeping costs, it will have lost an important opportunity to avoid major budget problems in the coming year. 3. It is difficult to discern what's happening when local and regional rates are presented separately. Residential rates will decrease from SI0.S0/month to SI0.20/month. An extensive table is attached which lists the impacts on some specific businesses. Increases will be experienced by large high strength custom- ers in November 1985. The delay in implementation is designed to allow a business to submit data that the customer feels will prove that the extra strength charge should not be applied. If a high strength customer does not or cannot prove that extra strength charges are inappropriate, they will be placed on the new charge schedule in November. 4. Is there justification for charging the cost of street sweeping against a customer's water comsumption? Staff evaluated three alternative methods of allocating storm sewer costs among customers: 1) assigning an equal amount to each account; 2) using the water meter size as a surrogate for lot size which in turn is a measure of storm run-off; and 3) assigning costs based upon the customer's reiative share of that area's impervious surface. It was concluded that the customer's impervious surface is the ideal measure of the cost contribution for storm sewer maintenance. However, this approach would require keeping billing information for 33,000 customers' properties, which is not now available. Neither of the other two approaches allocates costs more accurately than the flow method being recommended. Staff recommends continued allocation of cost on the sanitary flow. 5. Can the City justify spending sewer funds for street cleaning? Certain costs of street sanitation will stay assigned to the general fund such as dead animal and debris pickup. Tests were performed by the Lane Council of Governments in 1980 that show dirty streets are a significant cause or pollution in run-off water. Moreover, dirt which is not re- moved from streets is deposited in catch basins and storm sewers where its removal is more difficult and more expensive. Recommendation Recommended Motion: Move that the Council direct the City Manager to prepare an ordinance for consideration which implements the rates recommended by the staff.