The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/04/2014 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 017, 2014, AMENDINAgenda Item 7 Item # 7 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY February 4, 2014 City Council STAFF Dennis Sumner, Senior Electrical Engineer Steven Catanach, Light & Power Operations Manager SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 017, 2014, Amending Chapter 26, Section 26-712, of the City Code Relating to Utility Manual Meter Reading Charges. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, unanimously adopted on First Reading on January 21, 2014, amends City Code concerning monthly billing charges for a site visit to obtain metering data for water and/or electric service consumption for monthly billing of utility services. The existing descriptor in the table of utility bill and account charges in Section 26-712 of City Code mistakenly references mechanical electric meters which have not been purchased by Light & Power since 2009. The use of this descriptor has created unnecessary confusion about the intent of this provision. The recommended change is to provide greater clarity. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, January 21, 2014 (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 017, 2014 (PDF) Agenda Item 16 Item # 16 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY January 21, 2014 City Council STAFF Dennis Sumner, Senior Electrical Engineer Steven Catanach, Light & Power Operations Manager SUBJECT Public Hearing and First Reading of Ordinance No. 017, 2014, Amending Chapter 26, Section 26-712, of the City Code Relating to Utility Manual Meter Reading Charges. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to revise the language used in the City Code concerning monthly billing charges for a site visit to obtain metering data for water and/or electric service consumption. The data is used for monthly billing of utility services. The existing descriptor in the table of utility bill and account charges in Section 26-712 of City Code mistakenly references mechanical electric meters which have not been purchased by Light & Power since 2009. The use of this descriptor has created unnecessary confusion about the intent of this provision. The recommended change is to provide greater clarity. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The City Code provides for the optional use of metering equipment without remote communications capability for recording water and electric services consumption. When such “non-advanced” metering is used, a site visit is required to read water and/or electric meters to obtain the use data used for service billing. A monthly fee for manual meter reading was established by Ordinance No. 161, 2011. The amount of the charge is not changed by this Ordinance. The fee is intended to recover the cost of manual meter readings for customers who choose to have a meter that does not transmit use date and therefore must be read manually. The manual meter reading charge is $11.00 per month for electric and/or water service. The fee is calculated to cover the cost of labor and equipment required to make a manual read of the meter(s) each month. All customers are eligible and encouraged to participate in the Advanced Meter Fort Collins program and accept updated metering equipment that transmits data. Those customers with an “advanced meter” will not require a manual reading and will not incur this fee. The fee is not intended to be a penalty for selecting a manually read meter; it is an equitable means to recover the costs to read the non- advanced meters. The current descriptor in the table at Section 26-712 that details utility fees mistakenly references a mechanical electric meter. Light & Power has been installing electronic meters since the early 1990s and has been phasing out electro-mechanical meters for some time. Light & Power has not used electro-mechanical meters as an equipment standard since 2009. The ordinance states the intention of the Code provision more clearly. The revision changes the description in the table to clearly communicate that the charge is for the site visit required to read water and/or electric metering to obtain use data that will be used for monthly service billing, and is not intended to create an entitlement on the part of the utility customer to request or retain a mechanical meter. ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 16 Item # 16 Page 2 FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACT There is no change in the fee amount. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS This change should not have environmental impacts. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION This is a clarification of an existing Code provision, not a policy or fee change. As such, it was not taken to the Water or Energy Boards. PUBLIC OUTREACH Postcards with notice of the change were mailed to out-of-City electric customers. A public notice was published in the Coloradoan on December 20, 2013 and posted on the City Clerk's public notice website. ATTACHMENTS 1. Powerpoint presentation (PDF) - 1 - ORDINANCE NO. 017, 2014 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 26, SECTION 712 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS RELATED TO MANUAL UTILITY METER READING CHARGES WHEREAS, the City Council is empowered and directed by Article XII, Section 6, of the City Charter to fix, establish, maintain and provide for the collection of such rates, fees or charges for utility services furnished by the City as will produce revenues sufficient to pay the costs, expenses and other obligations of the electric utility, as set forth therein; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Ordinance No. 033, 2012, Section 26-712 of the City Code was updated to include a charge for manual reading of certain utility metering equipment in order to recover the cost of performing such meter-reading; and WHEREAS, in order to avoid confusion regarding the application of this charge, staff has determined the need to clarify the descriptor language for the charge, as found in the City Code; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend Chapter 26 of the City Code to clarify the purpose and application of the charge for manual reading of meters without remote communications capabilities used by some Fort Collins water and electric utilities customers. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That Section 26-712(b) of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-712. Utility bill and account charges authorized; procedures. … (b) The following account and miscellaneous fees and charges shall apply to all City utility customers receiving service pursuant to the terms of Chapter 26, whether within or outside of the corporate limits of the City, except as otherwise expressly stated: Fees and Charges Amount Service connection fee for account with one or more metered services (including non metered services for the same account) $19.65 Customer-initiated rate change (after 90 days of new service) 19.65 - 2 - Service connection fee for account with only non-metered services (stormwater, wastewater, wind, flat commercial electric, sprinkler clocks, cable towers and floodlights) 10.00 Service fee to reinstate an account to the owner/property manager between tenants 10.00 Manual meter reading charge, per month, charged to service addresses where metering equipment without remote communications capability is used, requiring an on-site visit to collect use data for water and/or electric service 11.00 per month Turn-off notice fee 10.00 Reconnect fee per service for water or electric following disconnection for delinquency 20.00 Trip charge for special services requested by customer during normal service hours 19.65 After-hours reconnect or after- hours trip charge for special service requested by customer Water (after 5:00 p.m. weekdays or weekend/holiday) 85.35 After-hours reconnect or after- hours trip charge for special service requested by customer Electric (after 5:00 p.m. weekdays or weekend/holiday) 85.35 Return item fee (check, electronic fund transfer, credit card, etc.) 25.00 Owner-requested repair disconnect 20.00 - 3 - fee, per trip Research/document fee per hour 20.00 Interest rate for utility service- related loans: No less than the most current U.S. prime lending rate at the time of loan origination plus 2% and no more than the most current U.S. prime lending rate at the time of loan origination plus 5%, per annum, with the interest rate for each loan to be set in accordance with the administrative rules and regulations of the Financial Officer pursuant to § 26-720. Loan-related fees for wastewater service-related loans: a. For loan application: 25.00 b. For loan origination: 150.00 Other miscellaneous charges will be based on direct cost plus 15% indirect costs. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 21st day of January, A.D. 2014, and to be presented for final passage on the 4th day of February, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk - 4 - Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th day of February, A.D. 2014. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk