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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 04/20/2021 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 047, 2021, APPROPR Agenda Item 6 Item # 6 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY April 20, 2021 City Council STAFF Lance Smith, Utilities Strategic Finance Director Cyril Vidergar, Legal SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 047, 2021, Appropriating Prior Year Reserves in the Light and Power Fund for Electric Utilities Customer Payment Assistance. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on March 16, 2021, appropriates a “one -time cash distribution” of $468,941 from Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) to be used for utility delinquencies through the Utilities Payment Assistance Program for electric and telecommunication utility customers economically affected by COVID-19 and to address the impact on rates that significant past-due and uncollectible balances may have on all electric and other utility ratepayers. The funds were deposited into the Light & Power Enterprise Fund in December 2020, and may only be used for that utility’s operations, maintenance, repair, replacement, or betterment or for another “specific utility purpose determined by Council to [benefit the utility’s ratepayers]”. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, March 16, 2021 (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 047, 2021 (PDF) Agenda Item 14 Item # 14 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY March 16, 2021 City Council STAFF Lance Smith, Utilities Strategic Finance Director Cyril Vidergar, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 047, 2021, Appropriating Prior Year Reserves in the Light and Power Fund for Electric Utilities Customer Payment Assistance. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to consider appropriation of a “one-time cash distribution” of $468,941 from Platte River Power Authority (PRPA) to be used for utility delinquencies through the Utilities Payment Assistance Program for electric and telecommunication utility customers economically affected by COVID-19 and to address the impact on rates that significant past-due and uncollectible balances may have on all electric and other utility ratepayers. The funds were deposited into the Light & Power Enterprise Fund in December 2020, and may only be used for that utility’s operations, maintenance, repair, replacement, or betterment or for another “specific utility purpose determined by Council to [benefit the utility’s ratepayers]”. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION In December 2020, PRPA issued a “one-time cash distribution” to Fort Collins in the amount of $468,941 as one of PRPA’s owner municipalities. These funds were deposited into the Light & Power Enterprise Fund and, pursuant to Art. XII, §6 of the City Charter, may only be used for that utility’s operations, maintenance, repair, replacement or betterment or for another “specific utility purpose determined by Council to be beneficial to the ratepayers of said utilit[y]”. Given the need to address the significant increase in utility delinquencies and the uncertainty of additional federal funds, utilizing the PRPA funds will help those customers who have incurred past due balances over the past 10 months related to the pandemic. Utilities staff proposes using the same application process used with distributing CARES Act funding, to include tracking the funds, customer impact, and ensuring that funds are utilized to help those that have experienced economic hardship through COVID-19. Through this proposed appropriation and the City’s ongoing commitment to work with our customers to establish payment plans, this “one-time cash distribution” from PRPA will be able to directly help the most impacted Utilities electric customers and to address the significant and unusual past-due and uncollectible utility account balances that are likely to have an impact on electric utility ratepayers in the form of increased rates if not reduced. ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 14 Item # 14 Page 2 Since March 2020, Fort Collins Utilities has not disconnected customers for non-payment in response to community need and the Colorado Governor’s executive order restricting public utility disconnection, which expired June 2020. Through federal CARES Act funding and the Utility Payment Assistance Program, Utilities directed $900,000 of financial assistance to customers who have struggled to pay utility bills. Outreach has included mailings, emails, and phone calls to advise customers of available funding and assistance programs. Utilities is waiting on crucial decisions regarding state and federal stimulus packages, such as financial assistance for delinquent accounts pending from utility led programs and third-party nonprofit organizations. The biggest unknown at this time is President Biden’s American Rescue Plan and financial assistance that will be available for utility assistance. As our community continues to navigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fort Collins Utilities has not confirmed a date to reinstate service disconnects. Even though disconnects and delinquent account fees have been consistent mechanisms to encourage customer bill payment, in accordance with the current Governor moratorium, we are also not charging late or reconnection fees to delinquent accounts. However, staff realizes payments for utility services are essential to enable the City to continue delivering reliable and high-quality electric, water, wastewater, and stormwater services and remain compliant with City Charter obligations. As such, staff plans to recommend reinstating disconnects on May 3, 2021 with ample customer outreach and continuing to offer payment arrangements to mitigate disconnection of services. In the meantime, staff is evaluating all available financial and programmatic assistance available for customers with delinquent accounts to resolve overdue balances and avoid the inconvenience associated with disconnection. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS The PRPA funds were given to the City as an owner/member municipality of PRPA. The use of such funds to assist electric and telecommunication utility customers will allow the electric utility enterprise funds to recover past due operating revenues and avoid interrupting utility services. By more fully realizing operating revenues, the utilities will have more funding available for the operation, maintenance and renewal of existing infrastructure serving everyone in our community. By minimizing the need to interrupt utility service, less time and resources will be needed to manage reconnecting customers without recovering the cost associated with interrupting utility services to our customers. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Staff is scheduled to speak with the Energy Board on disconnects and efforts to avoid such at the March 11, 2021, meeting. Agenda Item 14 Item # 14 Page 3 ATTACHMENTS 1. PRPA Resolution 15-20 (PDF) 2. PRPA Memo to Board of Directors (PDF) 3. Memo to Council Finance Committee February 25, 2021 (PDF) -1- ORDINANCE NO. 047, 2021 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING PRIOR YEAR RESERVES IN THE LIGHT AND POWER FUND FOR ELECTRIC UTILITIES CUSTOMER PAYMENT ASSISTANCE WHEREAS, in December 2020, Platte River Power Authority (PRPA), the municipal electric power generation and transmission authority of which the cities of Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont, and the Town of Estes Park are members, issued an unanticipated “one-time cash distribution” to the City (the “PRPA funds”), pursuant to PRPA Board Resolution 15-20; and WHEREAS, the PRPA funds, in the amount of $468,941, were deposited in the Light & Power enterprise fund, to be used, pursuant to Art. XII, §6 of the City Charter, for electric utility operations, maintenance, repair, replacement or betterment or for another specific utility purpose determined by Council to benefit the electric utility’s ratepayers; and WHEREAS, since March 2020, conditions associated with the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic resulted in significant increases in City utility customer bill delinquencies resulting in significant past-due balances of a magnitude not normally experienced by the Electric utility, only a portion of which was mitigated by the Utilities Payment Assistance Program (PAF), pursuant to City Code §26-722, and federal relief funds in 2020, including the CARES Act, and WHEREAS, despite $900,000 of financial assistance Utilities applied to assist customers who struggled to pay utility bills in 2020, large utility account balances persist and availability of PAF and federal stimulus funds is uncertain, which led Utilities staff to evaluate other financial resources to help customers who incurred past due balances in the past ten months and seek to reduce outstanding amounts due to the utility to avoid adverse impacts on all utility ratepayers in the form of increased rates; and WHEREAS, Utilities staff research concluded that using the PRPA funds in addition to the City’s ongoing commitment to establish utility customers payment plans will meaningfully direct assistance to the most impacted Utilities customers. leverage PAF resource opportunities and recover significant outstanding amounts due to the electric utility thereby benefitting all ratepayers; and WHEREAS, Utilities staff has recommended appropriating the PRPA funds to be administered through the application process used for CARES Act distribution in 2020, including tracking dispersals and customer impact, to ensure the PRPA funds bolster payment plan options for customers experiencing economic hardship due to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended the appropriation described herein and has determined this appropriation is available and previously unappropriated from the Light & Power Fund and will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received in that Fund during this fiscal year; and WHEREAS, Article V, §9 of the City Charter permits the City Council, upon the recommendation of the City Manager, to appropriate by ordinance at any time during the fiscal -2- year such funds for expenditure as may be available from reserves accumulated in prior years, notwithstanding that such reserves were not previously appropriated; and WHEREAS, the proposed appropriation and expenditure benefit the public’s health, safety and welfare and serve utility rate payers by providing focused funding to enable customers to continue receiving reliable, high-quality electric and telecommunications, water, wastewater, and stormwater services, increase collections and reduce billing operation expenses for utility rate payers consistent with the purposes of Article XII, §6 of the City Charter. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That there is hereby appropriated from prior year reserves in the Light & Power Fund the sum of FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED FORTY-ONE DOLLARS ($468,941) for expenditure from the Light & Power Fund for payment assistance to electric and telecommunication services customers. Section 3. That the City Council hereby finds that this use of the PRPA funds will serve the specific utility purposes of reducing the unusually high levels un-paid amounts due to the utility driven by the COVID19 pandemic, avoiding adverse impacts on all utility ratepayers in the form of increased rates, and enabling utility customers to continue receiving reliable, high- quality electric services, which Council determines will benefit the electric utility’s ratepayers as required by Article XII, §6 of the City Charter. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 16th day of March, A.D. 2021, and to be presented for final passage on the 20th day of April, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk -3- Passed and adopted on final reading on the 20th day of April, A.D. 2021. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk