HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 01/21/2014 - PUBLIC HEARING AND FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO.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.
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
Manual Meter Reading Charge
• Ordinance clarifies 2011 Code language
concerning the manual meter reading charge for
non-advanced meters
• No change to the $11/month fee amount
• No meter reading charge for customers with
advanced meters
2
Manual Meter Reading Charge
• Eliminates the 2011 reference to “mechanical”
meters
• Clarifies that the monthly fee is charged for:
– service addresses where non-advanced
metering equipment is used
and
– an on-site visit is required to collect billing data
for water and/or electric service
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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
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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 Mmeter reading charge, per
month, for those customers who
request the option of mechanical
electric meter and/or a mechanical
water meter instead of the standard
advanced metering equipment 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 fee, 20.00
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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
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Passed and adopted on final reading on the 4th day of February, A.D. 2014.
__________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
City Clerk