65A - WATER - SEWER RATE - Laserfiche WebLink

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Authorize Staff to Prepare Documents for Proposed Water and Sewer Rate Adjustments October 1, 2019 Page 3 Financial Plan The rate study proposes to primarily cash finance the above re -investments in critical water and sewer infrastructure, with the exception of the AMI project. Cash financing is more appropriate to pay for average/typical capital spending levels. Cash financing avoids the cost of interest and ensures that a utility is not creating undue burden on future ratepayers through the accumulation of debt. For the AMI Project, some grant funding has already been secured and additional debt financing is being sought. Debt financing is appropriate for one-time, large capital projects (such as the AMI Project) that are anomalies compared to normal capital spending levels. Debt financing in those cases allows the utility to avoid unnecessary "rate shock" and helps spread the cost of large projects over a longer period. It also ensures that future ratepayers who benefit from the project will also pay for the project. As part of the analysis, existing reserve levels were examined. Recommended reserves include an Operating & Maintenance Reserve target equal to 90 days (3 months) of annual operating expenses; an Emergency Reserve set a $4 million (for both the Water and Sewer Enterprises); and a Repair, Renewal, and Replacement Capital Reserve equal to 50% of average annual projected capital spending. Rate Design Over the past decade the legal requirements surrounding utility rate setting in California have evolved. Namely the courts have made rulings with respect to California Constitution Article XIII C and D (commonly known as Proposition 218) that have created a higher "cost of service" standard for rate setting than has historically been practiced by public utilities. Simply put, the burden of proof is on utilities to demonstrate that all aspects of water and sewer rates are directly proportionate to the cost of providing service. This means aligning fixed revenue (fixed charges) with fixed costs, and variable revenue (usage rates) with variable costs. In addition, Stantec looked at opportunities to strengthen revenue stability for both utilities, which were found to rely too heavily on usage rates, making the utilities susceptible to revenue volatility. Currently, the City's water utility recovers approximately 17% of revenues through the fixed base charge while the sewer utility collects approximately 13% through fixed charges. These rates were not found to be aligned with the utilities' actual fixed costs, which were found to be closer to 40% for the water utility and nearly 100% for the sewer utility. The proposed water rates are structured to directly align the water utility's variable costs (i.e., water purchases and electricity) with the water usage rates ("Water Usage Charge"). By extension, the water utility's fixed costs (i.e., salaries, capital spending, maintenance, and overhead) will be aligned with the fixed water charges ("Water Utility Charge"). Sewer rates ("Sewer Utility Charge") are proposed to be fixed for all customers based on the size of their meter and the type of customer, since some customers (e.g., commercial accounts) return a larger percentage of their water to the sewer than others (e.g., single-family residences) which have higher irrigation needs. The Fats Oils and Grease (FOG) Charge for food service accounts will increase by 68% in order to better reflect the cost of the FOG Control Program. 65A-3