HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.F.7. Residential Sewer Bill Calculations
CITY OF SHAKOPEE .s: F.. ~
Memorandum CONSENT
TO: Mayor and Council
Mark McNeill, City Administrator
FROM: Gregg Vox I and , Finance Director
SUBJ: Residential Sewer Bill Calculations
DATE: May 10, 2006
Introduction
Council is requested to consider changing the way residential sanitary sewer
bills are calculated.
Background
All sewer customers are charged the same rate but it applied in a different:
manner to residential accounts in order not to charge sewer onnon-sewered
usage such as lawn sprinkling.
Currently residential accounts are billed based on the average water use
during the winter 5 months. That usage is the base for the next 12 months of
sewer billing. With the increased volume of accounts and the more frequent:
change in customer/ownership of homes during that 12 month period, this
method simply is not responsive enough and has been difficult for users to
understand.
Proposed is changing to billing sewer based on current monthly water use. To
accommodate lawn sprinkling, a cap on the amount of water used in the summer
months would be calculated at 50% above the usage in the month of March.
March is used because it would be the most recent month before outside water
use which may start in April.
This concept has been discussed with SPUC staff and will simplify their work
load in dealing with sewer billing. Implementation date to be determined
based on software reprogramming.
Example:
March water usage 6 units (6,000 gallons)
Sewer rate 1. 60/ unit
Flow charge $ 9.60
Monthly flat charge $ 7.00
Sewer bill for March $16.60
July water usage 20 units (20,000 gallons)
Capped at 150% of March 9 units
Sewer rate 1.60/ unit
Flow charge $14.40
Monthly flat charge $ 7.00
Sewer bill for July $21. 40
Note: Whispering Oaks subdivision has a $3.00 flow charge because of the
rate charged the city for usage of the City of Savage interconnect.
Alternatives
1. Status Quo.
2. change to proposal above.
3. Other method such as billing sewer based on 85% of water used year round.
Recommendation
Alternative 2.
Action
Move to direct staff to implement billing residential sanitary sewer accounts
based on current water use with a cap of 150% of March water usage for the
subsequent months of April through October.
J~ Voxland
Finance Director
H:finance/docs/sewer calc.doc