HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5: Ordinance Concerning Fee-Setting and Charges
ECC
UGENE ITY OUNCIL
AIS
GENDA TEM UMMARY
Action: An Ordinance Concerning Setting Fees and Charges and Amending Sections
2.020, 2.442, and 6.411 of the Eugene Code
Meeting Date: May 29, 2007 Agenda Item Number: 5
Department: City Manager’s Office Staff Contact: Mary Walston
Department: City Attorney’s Office Staff Contact: Jerry Lidz
www.eugene-or.gov Contact Telephone Number: 682-5406
ISSUE STATEMENT
Final action is set on a proposed ordinance to revise slightly the directives to the City Manager for
setting fees and charges. The Eugene Code assigns administrative rule-making authority to the City
Manager (Section 2.019). In the later sections of the code proposed to be modified by the proposed
ordinance, the criteria for setting fees and charges are defined. The proposed ordinance would grant
the manager some flexibility in how these criteria are applied.
BACKGROUND
The impetus for the proposed revision comes from a recent Oregon Court of Appeals decision that
interpreted the Code more strictly than staff believes was intended. In providing directives to the City
Manager for setting of fees and charges, the current language in Section 2.020 states:
In determining the amount of any such fee, the City Manager shall consider:
a) Applicable policies, enactments and directives of the council;
b) The amount charged by the City in the past;
c) The full costs of providing the service supported by the fee;
d) The amounts charged by other comparable providers; and,
e) The revenue needs of the City as determined by the adopted City budget.
In 2002, the City Manager issued an administrative order setting fees for utilities’ right-of-way use
permits. Comcast subsequently challenged these fees in circuit court, which upheld the fees. Comcast
appealed to the Oregon Court of Appeals, which declared that the fees were invalid because the City
Manager had not expressly considered “the amounts charged by other comparable providers.” City
staff had deemed that step unnecessary, because another provision in the Eugene Code, Section 7.300,
expressly requires the fees for these permits to be set “in an amount sufficient to fully recover all of the
City’s costs related to [the permit program].” Despite that specific directive in the code, the Court of
Appeals concluded that the right-of-way permit fees were invalid because the mandatory comparison
to other “comparable providers” was not completed.
The change to the fee-setting process in the proposed ordinance is narrow. It would allow the City
Manager not to consider one or more of the factors listed in EC 2.020 if – but only if – the manager
makes written findings that a particular factor is irrelevant or inapplicable. For instance, in setting the
fees challenged in the Comcast case, the City Manager could have accompanied the fee order with a
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written finding that comparing the proposed fees to those charged in other cities was irrelevant in light
of the specific directive in EC 7.300 that the fees must fully recover program costs and the fact that
most other cities subsidize their right-of-way permit programs.
The proposed ordinance also would make comparable changes to fee-setting provisions for airport fees
and for stormwater and wastewater fees.
A work session on the proposed ordinance was held on May 16, 2007. At that work session, the City
Council requested additional language to provide for notification of the members of the City Council;
that language has been added. A public hearing on the proposed ordinance was held on May 21, 2007;
no one spoke on the proposed ordinance at that hearing.
RELATED CITY POLICIES
The proposed ordinance would not directly affect City policies; it would revise the methods used by
the City Manager to consider setting fees and charges.
COUNCIL OPTIONS
The council may propose additional modifications to the proposed ordinance or may move to adopt the
ordinance as drafted.
CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDATION
The City Manager recommends that the City Council adopt the proposed ordinance.
SUGGESTED MOTION
Move to adopt an ordinance concerning setting fees and charges and amending sections 2.020, 2.442,
and 6.411 of the Eugene Code.
ATTACHMENTS
A. Proposed Ordinance with amendments requested at the May 16, 2007, City Council work session.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Staff Contact: Mary Walston
Telephone: 682-5406
Staff E-Mail: mary.f.walston@ci.eugene.or.us
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ATTACHMENT A
ORDINANCE NO. __________
AN ORDINANCE CONCERNING SETTING FEES AND CHARGES AND
AMENDING SECTIONS 2.020, 2.442, and 6.411 OF THE EUGENE
CODE, 1971.
THE CITY OF EUGENE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1.
Subsections (2) and (3) of Section 2.020 of the Eugene Code, 1971,
is amended to provide:
2.020 City Manager - Authority to Set Fees and Charges.
(2)
Unless the city manager determines in writing that consideration
of one or more of the following factors is irrelevant or inapplicable,
[I]in determining the amount of any such fee the city manager shall
consider:
(a) Applicable policies, enactments and directives of the council;
(b) The amount charged by the city in the past;
(c) The full costs of providing the service supported by the fee;
(d) The amounts charged by other comparable providers; and,
(e) The revenue needs of the city as determined by the adopted city
budget.
(3)
At least 15 days prior to the initiation of a new fee or change in the
amount of such a fee, the city manager shall give notice of the
proposed fee by:
(a) Making copies of a notice of intended charges available to the
mayor and city council, including the city manager’s written
determination, if any, that one or more of the factors listed in
subsection (2) of this section is irrelevant or inapplicable;
(b) Making copies of a notice of intended charges available to any
persons who have requested such notice;
(c) Publishing a notice of intended charges in a newspaper of general
circulation within the city if the fee or charge is or is likely to be
$250.00 or greater; and,
(d) Posting such notice at two locations at city hall.
Section 2.
Section 2.442 of the Eugene Code, 1971, is amended to provide:
2.442 Airport Fees and Charges - Standards.
(1) Unless the city manager or council, as apposite, determines in
writing that consideration of one or more of the following factors
is irrelevant or inapplicable, [I]in determining the amount or rate of
any charge, fee or rent imposed for the use of Mahlon Sweet Airport,
the city manager or council shall consider the following:
Ordinance -
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(a) The amount charged for such use in the past;
(b) Comparable amounts or rates, if any, charged by other airports;
(c) The amounts or rates and other municipal benefits agreed to by
comparable users of the airport in a contract, lease, or permit;
and,
(d) The revenue needs of the airport.
(2) If the city manager determines that one or more of the factors
listed in subsection (1) of this section is irrelevant or inapplicable,
the city manager shall notify the mayor and council of that
determination.
Section 3.
Subsection (2) of Section 6.411 of the Eugene Code, 1971, is
amended, subsection (3) is renumbered to (4), and a new subsection (3) is added, to
provide:
6.411 Ratemaking
.
(2)
Standards. Unless the city manager determines in writing that one
or more of the following factors is irrelevant or inapplicable, [T]the
amount or rate of any charge for wastewater service, stormwater
service or regional wastewater treatment service shall be based on the
following:
(a) The amount charged for such service in the past;
(b) For regional wastewater treatment services the recommendation,
if any, of the Metropolitan Wastewater Management Commission,
or any successor agency;
(c) Applicable federal or state regulations or conditions imposed as
part of a federal or state grant or financial assistance agreement;
(d) The amounts charged or proposed to be charged by the city of
Springfield and other providers of stormwater or wastewater
services for comparable services;
(e) The revenue needed to pay for the direct and indirect expected
costs of constructing, operating, maintaining, and replacing local
and regional sewerage facilities based on the adopted budgets of
the city of Eugene and the Metropolitan Wastewater Management
Commission or its successor, the debt obligations of the city or
other entities for construction of the facilities, adopted capital
improvement plans of the council, the expected need for financial
reserves and contingencies, and other sources of revenue;
(f) For an individual stormwater service customer that discharges
stormwater that requires extraordinary expense to the city, special
surcharge rates based on the type, concentration, quantity, quality
and frequency of the discharge.
(g) Other relevant adopted policies of the council;
(h) The terms of any applicable intergovernmental agreement relating
to wastewater or stormwater services or regional wastewater
treatment service; and
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(I) The obtaining of equity between different classes of customers so
that one class of customers does not pay more than its
proportionate share of the expenses of providing sewer service.
(3) If the city manager determines that one or more of the factors
listed in subsection (2) of this section is irrelevant or inapplicable,
the manager shall notify the mayor and council of that
determination.
([3])
4 Limitations. The following limitations apply to charges set by the
city manager for wastewater service, stormwater service and regional
wastewater treatment service:
(a) Charges shall be imposed on a monthly basis. Each
customer shall be notified, in at least one annual billing for
the service, of the rate or the amount of the charge and the
allocation of revenue expected from application of the
charge.
(b) The charges for regional wastewater treatment service shall
distinguish between the following classes of customers:
single dwelling units, duplexes, and general wastewater
customer use based on low, medium, and high or industrial
loading strengths and may impose a surcharge on high
strength industrial users based on biochemical oxygen
demand and suspended solids concentrations in excess of
domestic strength levels.
(c) The charges for local wastewater service may, but need not,
distinguish between classes of customers.
(d) The monthly charge for wastewater service and regional
wastewater treatment service shall be a fixed fee together
with a fee based on volume of use of water (partial flow-
based rate).
(e) When the wastewater service rate is based on volume, the
volume shall be calculated by actual measurement of the
wastewater discharged (the costs of measurement to be
borne by the customer) or by an estimate based on the
wastewater customer's average monthly water consumption
during the previous December through April period, or, if no
water consumption figures are available for at least three full
months during this period, the consumption of other similar
customers (for residential customers) or actual monthly
water consumption (for non-residential customers).
(f) The charges for stormwater service shall distinguish between the
following classes of customers: small residential, medium residential
and general stormwater customer, based upon the actual number of
equivalent service units for each developed property or an average
number of equivalent service units for a specific class. Special
surcharges for stormwater service customers who receive extraordinary
service shall be in addition to the standard charges for the customer's
classification.
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Section 4.
The City Recorder, at the request of, or with the concurrence of the
City Attorney, is authorized to correct any reference errors contained herein, or in other
provisions of the Eugene Code, 1971, to the provisions added, amended or repealed
herein.
Passed by the City Council this Approved by the Mayor this
_____ day of ____________, 2007 ____ day of _____________, 2007
___________________________ ____________________________
City Recorder Mayor
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