HomeMy WebLinkAbout929_Part 17 Ch 1_OPWA Resolution 2008.03_Rural Sewer RatesTulsa County Clerk - EARLENE WILSON
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CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA
ORDINANCE NO. 929
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO PART 17, UTILITIES, CHAPTER 1,
WATER, SEWER AND SANITATION SYSTEMS, OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA, AMENDING SAME
BY AMENDING SECTION 17 -110 TO ADD SECTION 17 -110 (A)(1) TO
INCLUDE RATES FOR RURAL WATER DISTRICT CUSTOMERS.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA,
THAT, TO -WIT:
SECTION ONE (1): Part Seventeen, Utilities, Chapter One, Water, Sever and Sanitation
Systems, of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, shall be amended by revising
Section 17 -110 to add Section 17 -110 (A)(1) to read as follows:
1. Rural water district customers residing within the corporate limits of the City of
Owasso, Oklahoma, utilizing the sanitary sewer service of the Owasso Public Works
Authority, shall be charged the same rates for sanitary sewer service as established in 17 -110
(A) above. Residential customers shall have an assumed usage of 7200 gallons per month.
Commercial customers assumed usage shall be assigned.
SECTION TWO (2): REPEALER
4
All ordinances or parts of ordinances, in conflict with this ordinance, are hereby repealed to the
extent of the conflict only.
'�l SECTION THREE (3): SEVERABILITY
If any part or parts of this ordinance are deemed unconstitutional, invalid or ineffective, the
X remaining portion shall not be affected but shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION FOUR (4): DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
The provisions of this ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days from the date of final
c . passage as provided by state law.
\ SECTION FIVE (5): CODIFICATION
The City of Owasso Code of Ordinances is hereby amended by amending section 17 -110, codified in
Part 17, Chapter 1 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Owasso.
APPROVED this 16 th day of September 2008
ATTEST:
CITY OF ASSO, OKLAHOMA
Stephen INataudella, Mayor
to
OFFICIAL
APPROVED AS TO FORM
Julie LXnbardi, City Attorney
PUBLISHER'S AFFIDAVIT
ORD NO. 929
PUBLICATION DATE(S)
09/23/08
CASE NUMBER: ORD NO. 929
AD NO: 00066898
LEGAL NOTICE
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
COUNTY OF Tulsa
66898
Published in the Owasso Reporter, Owasso, Tulsa County,
Oklahoma, September 23, 2008.
CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA
ORDINANCE NO. 929
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO PART 17, UTILITIES, CHAPTER
1, WATER, SEWER AND SANITATION SYSTEMS, OF THE CODE
OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF OWASSO, OKLAHOMA,
AMENDING SAME BY AMENDING SECTION 17 -110 TO ADD
SECTION 17 -110 (A)(1) TO INCLUDE RATES FOR RURAL
WATER DISTRICT CUSTOMERS.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OFTHE CITY OF OWASSO,
OKLAHOMA, THAT, TO -WIT:
SECTION ONE (1): Part Seventeen, Utilities, Chapter One, Water,
Sever and Sanitation Systems, of the Code of Ordinances of the City
of Owasso, Oklahoma, shall be amended by revising Section 17 -110
to add Section 17 -110 (A)(1) to read as follows:
1. Rural water district customers residing within the corporate limits
of the City of Owasso, Oklahoma, utilizing the sanitary sewer serv-
ice of the Owasso Public Works Authority, shall be charged the same
SS rates for sanitary sewer service as established in 17 -110 (A) above.
Residential customers shall have an assumed usage of 7200 gallons
per month. Commercial customers assumed usage shall be
assigned.
1, of lawful age, being duly sworn, am a legal representative of
Owasso Reporter of Owasso, Oklahoma, a daily newspaper of
general circulation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a newspaper qualified
to publish legal notices, advertisements and publications as
provided in Section 106 of Title 25, Oklahoma Statutes 1971
and 1982 as amended, and thereafter, and complies with all
other requirements of the laws of Oklahoma with reference to
legal publications. That said notice, a true copy of which is
attached hereto was published in the regular edition of said
newspaper during the period and time of publication and not in
a supplement, on the ABOVE LISTED DATE(S)
Representative 161nature
Subscribed to and sworn to me this 24th day of September, 2008.
Notary Public nP4
N CY CAROL MOORE
My commission number: 06011684
My commission expires: December 8, 2010
Customer #: 00000779
Customer: CITY OF OWASSO
Publisher's Fee: 98.00 Wyk
Notary Public • State OMWO
ExpiresDecember 8, 2010
MUM # 06011684
SECTION TWO (2): REPEALER
All ordinances or parts of ordinances, in conflict with this ordinance,
are hereby repealed to the extent of the conflict only.
SECTION THREE (3): SEVERABILITY
If any part or parts of this ordinance are deemed unconstitutional,
invalid or ineffective, the remaining portion shall not be affected but
shall remain in full force and effect.
SECTION FOUR (4): DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE
The provisions of this ordinance shall become effective thirty (30)
days from the date of final passage as provided by state law.
SECTION FIVE (5): CODIFICATION
The City of Owasso Code of Ordinances is hereby amended by
amending section 17 -110, codified in Part 17, Chapter 1 of the Code
of Ordinances of the City of Owasso.
APPROVED this 16th day of September 2008
ATTEST:
/s/ Sherry Bishop, City Clerk
(SEAL)
APPROVED AS TO FORM
/s/ Julie Lombardi, City Attorney
/s/ Stephen Cataudella, Mayor
APPROVED BY COUNCIL
SEP 161008
MEMORANDUM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF OWASSO
FROM: SHERRY BISHOP
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT: ORDINANCE NO. 929
RURAL WATER DISTRICT CUSTOMER UTILITY RATES
DATE: September 12, 2008
BACKGROUND:
About 1999, annexation and development began in Bailey Ranch Estates II, Preston Lakes and the
Owasso Market. Those areas were the first large developments in Owasso to have OPWA sewer and
refuse utility services and water service from a RWD (rural water district). Billing for OPWA
customers without OPWA water service presented two difficulties. The amount billed for sewer
"usage" is based on the volume of water metered. The OPWA does not have that information for
customers with rural water service. The other difficulty is collecting delinquent accounts. The
primary motivator for payment of delinquent utility accounts is the threat of disconnected utility
service. Without the water utility, service disconnection is nearly impossible.
To address those billing and collection concerns, agreements were negotiated with RWD #3 Rogers
County and RWD #3 Washington County for the rural water districts to provide billing and
collection services for the OPWA utilities for a 10% fee. Not a part of the contract, but central to the
agreement with the rural water districts was that the OPWA utility charges would be a fixed amount
for residential customers and rate changes would not be frequent. At that time, the decision was
made to set the "usage" volume for residential sewer customers at an average of 7200 gallons per
month and to add the 10% billing fee to the customer charges.
Over the years since then, the Owasso citizens with RWD billings have regularly questioned the
sewer rates and billing method. At several of the recent neighborhood meetings, the RWD customer
billing and sewer rates was a concern of citizens. There are three basic issues to consider:
• The 10% billing charge (to cover the RWD administrative fee)
• The 7200 gallon sewer usage volume for all residential customers
• Billing service to be provided by the RWD or by the OPWA
REQUEST:
The 10% administrative fee paid to the rural water districts for billing and collection services should
be considered a normal cost of business in much the same way as is the Utility Billing Department
budget. The estimated revenue loss of $85,500 while not insignificant is less than 1% of the OPWA
revenue budget and is a tolerable loss. A decision to reduce rates by removing the 10% billing fee
now would allow that rate change to be effective with other rate changes on October 1. Sewer and
refuse rate increases are already set to be effective on October 1 and those customer rate change
notices could include the reduction of the 10% billing fee.
Additional staff review and discussion is needed on the other issues of the sewer usage volume and
whether OPWA should provide its own billing and collection services for RWD customers. Staff
request to continue discussion of these issues with Council at the November work session.
ORDINANCE NO. 929:
OPWA Trustees will consider an item on September 16, 2008 to establish utility rates for OPWA
customers served by rural water districts removing the 10% administrative fee. If OPWA Resolution
No. 2008 -03 is approved, Council approval is needed to establish those rates within the City's Code
of Ordinances. City Ordinance No. 929 approves the rates for rural water district customers within
the corporate limits of Owasso as established by OPWA Resolution No. 2008 -03.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of Ordinance No. 929 approving utility rates for rural water district
customers as established by OPWA Resolution No. 2008 -03.
ATTACHMENT:
Ordinance No. 929
MEMORANDUM
TO: HONORABLE CHAIR AND TRUSTEES
OWASSO PUBLIC WORKS AUTHORITY
FROM: SHERRY BISHOP
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
SUBJECT: OPWA RESOLUTION NO. 2008-03
RWD CUSTOMER RATES
DATE: September 12, 2008
BACKGROUND:
APPROVED 13Y TRUSTEES
5 t Y 1 6 2008
About 1999, annexation and development began in Bailey Ranch Estates 11, Preston Lakes and the
Owasso Market. Those areas were the first large developments in Owasso to have OPWA sewer and
refuse utility services and water service from a RWD (rural water district). Billing for OPWA
customers without OPWA water service presented two difficulties. The amount billed for sewer
"usage" is based on the volume of water metered. The OPWA does not have that information for
customers with rural water service. The other difficulty is collecting delinquent accounts. The
primary motivator for payment of delinquent utility accounts is the threat of disconnected utility
service. Without the water utility, service disconnection is nearly impossible.
To address those billing and collection concerns, agreements were negotiated with RWD #3 Rogers
County and RWD #3 Washington County for the rural water districts to provide billing and
collection services for the OPWA utilities for a 10% fee. Not a part of the contract, but central to the
agreement with the rural water districts was that the OPWA utility charges would be a fixed amount
for residential customers and rate changes would not be frequent. At that time, the decision was
made to set the "usage" volume for residential sewer customers at an average of 7200 gallons per
month and to add the 10% billing fee to the customer charges.
Over the years since then, the Owasso citizens with RWD billings have regularly questioned the
sewer rates and billing method. At several of the recent neighborhood meetings, the RWD customer
billing and sewer rates was a concern of citizens. There are three basic issues to consider:
• The 10% billing charge (to cover the RWD administrative fee)
• The 7200 gallon sewer usage volume for all residential customers
• Billing service to be provided by the RWD or by the OPWA
BILLING CHARGE:
The 10 % administrative fee paid to the RWD for billing and collection services is added to the
OPWA rates paid by the OPWA -RWD customers. Currently the 10% billing charge is a difference
of $4.16 per month per residential customer. The total fee paid to the two rural water districts for
OPWA RESOLUTION NO. 2008 -03
Page 2
billing and collection services during a year is approximately $104,000. That cost is added to the
regular OPWA utility rates and is paid by the customer. For the customers billed directly by the
OPWA through the Finance Department, the cost of billing and collection services is a normal cost
of service and is already included in the OPWA rate structure.
Removing the 10% billing charge from the RWD customer rates would:
• Reduce the total charges to OPWA -RWD customers by about $95,000;
• Reduce the fee paid to the RWD by about $9,500; and
• Reduce the net revenue to the OPWA by about $85,500.
SEWER USAGE VOLUME:
The OPWA -RWD customers are currently billed for sewer charges based on usage of 7200 gallons
per month. This amount is within the range of statistical averages for water usage. Based on
statistics from various sources (including the US Geological Survey) the average water usage per
person is between 2400 and 3000 gallons per month. The Owasso average single family residential
household size is 2.94 (per Eric Wiles, Owasso Community Development Director). Based on this
information, the average Owasso single family residential household water usage would be between
7056 and 8820 gallons per month.
The OPWA -RWD residential customers are billed for sewer charges based on water usage of 7200
gallons per month. This amount is toward the low end of the range of normal usage for an average
single family residential household of 2.94 persons. For a household of one or two persons, 7200
would be a high usage. For a household of four or more, 7200 would be a very low usage.
The OPWA regular residential sewer rate is $5.08 (base) plus $2.50 for each 1000 gallons of sewer
usage. Currently, each OPWA -RWD residential customer is billed $23.08 monthly (plus $2.31
billing fee for a total of $25.39) for sewer service.
BILLING SERVICES BY RWD:
Billing and collection services are currently provided by the two rural water districts. This billing
service method is easy and efficient for the OPWA but communications with our customers and
billing options are very restricted. RWD #3 Washington County reads customer water meters and
bills each customer monthly. In RWD #3 Rogers County, each customer reads his own meter,
completes the payment coupon and submits the calculated payment to the water district. Both
Washington and Rogers RWD submit a report with payment to the City of Owasso, Finance
Department each month.
When OPWA rates are changed, the Finance Department obtains a customer list from the RWD and
rate notification letters are mailed to each OPWA -RWD customer. This is especially important for
the Rogers County customers who must include the rate change themselves on the payment coupon.
The OPWA agreed to limit the number of rate changes for the RWD customers, so if there are
multiple rate changes during a year, the effective date for the OPWA -RWD customers is usually
deferred so there will be only one rate change per year. This year, for example, an Ambulance Rate
OPWA RESOLUTION NO. 2008 -03
Page 3
increase was effective July 1 and Sewer and Refuse rate increases are to be effective October 1.
These rate changes will be effective on single date for the OPWA -RWD customers.
The understanding with the two rural water districts when the agreement was signed in 1999 was
also that the OPWA billing for residential customers would be at fixed rate for all services.
Consequently, customer sewer charges are not based on actual water usage, but on a predetermined
average for all customers. That agreement resulted in the sewer usage volume of 7200 gallons per
residential customer as is explained in the section above.
The Utility Billing Department is reviewing the options and problems associated with taking over
billing and collection for OPWA utility services for our customers within the rural water districts.
Providing our own billing services would allow us to address some of the customer concerns but
would create new challenges for the Utility Billing Department. OPWA billing services would
improve customer communications and the effectiveness of rate changes.
Options for resolving the issue of sewer charges based actual customer water usage rather than on a
fixed volume charge could possibly involve customers submitting their own water usage records.
This option is complicated by the fact that Rogers County customers read their own meters.
ffective collection of delinquent accounts is another problem that would have to be addressed.
The 10% administrative fee paid to the rural water districts for billing and collection services should
be considered a normal cost of business in much the same way as is the Utility Billing Department
budget. The estimated revenue loss of $85,500 while not insignificant is less than 1% of the OPWA
revenue budget and is a tolerable loss. A decision to reduce rates by removing the 10% billing fee
now would allow that rate change to be effective with other rate changes on October 1. Sewer and
refuse rate increases are already set to be effective on October 1 and those customer rate change
notices could include the reduction of the 10% billing fee.
Additional staff review and discussion is needed on the other issues of the sewer usage volume and
whether OPWA should provide its own billing and collection services for RWD customers. Staff
request to continue discussion of these issues with Council at the November work session.
RESOLUTION NO. 2008-03:
OPWA Resolution No. 2008 -03 would establish utility rates for rural water district customers within
the corporate limits of Owasso at the same rates as are currently applicable to other customers of the
OPWA regardless of whether or not they are OPWA water service customers. For residential
customers, 7200 gallons per month usage is assumed. For commercial customers, an assigned
average usage is assumed. Wording in the previous resolution which added the 10% administrative
fee has been removed.
OPWA RESOLUTION NO. 2008 -03
Page 4
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of OPWA Resolution No. 2008 -03 establishing utility rates for OPWA
Rural Water District customers within the corporate limits of Owasso and establishing an effective
date of October 1, 2008.
ATTACHMENT:
OPWA Resolution No. 2008 -03