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HomeMy WebLinkAbout174 - 11/07/2006 - AMENDING CHAPTER 26, ARTICLE IV, DIVISION 4 OF THE CITY CODE RELATING TO WASTEWATER RATES AND CHARGE ORDINANCE NO. 174, 2006 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS AMENDING CHAPTER 26, ARTICLE IV, DIVISION 4 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS RELATING TO WASTEWATER RATES AND CHARGES WHEREAS, the City Council is empowered and directed by Article XII, Section 6, of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, 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 wastewater utility, as set forth therein; and WHEREAS, Section 26-277 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins, requires that the City Manager analyze the operating and financial records of the wastewater utility during each calendar year and recommend to the City Council the user rate fees or adjustments to be in effect for the following year; and WHEREAS, Section 26-277 further requires that the user rates shall be revised as necessary to assure equity of the rate system established and to assure that sufficient funds are obtained to adequately operate and maintain the wastewater system; and WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended to the City Council that the following wastewater use rates be imposed for the billing year beginning January 1, 2007; and WHEREAS, Section 26-283 of the City Code provides that the rates and parameters of the sewer plant investment fees be reviewed annually by the City Manager and be presented to City Council for approval no less frequently than biennially; and WHEREAS, a study of the sewer plant investment fees was conducted in 2005 which recommended an increase in plant investment fees of 174%; and WHEREAS,in light of the magnitude of those proposed increases,City Council determined in 2005 to buffer the impact of the fees by phasing them in over a three year period; and WHEREAS, the first phase of the new fees was adopted by Ordinance 134, 2005 and was effective January 1, 2006, and WHEREAS, in accordance with Council's earlier direction the City Manager er now recommends that the second phase of the fees be adopted to be effective January 1, 2007; and WHEREAS, in some instances it is beneficial for Utilities to enter into agreements with customers to outline details of complex service arrangements or to provide special services requested by customers that are beyond those required for basic wastewater service; and WHEREAS,the City Managerhas recommended that the City Code be amended to expressly authorize General Manager to enter into such special agreements through a written agreement between the Utilities and the customer. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That paragraph(c)of Section 26-279 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: See. 26-279. Service charges; categories. (c) The rate determination by category is as follows: (1) If there is no water meter,the rate for Categories A and B shall be a flat rate representative of the actual cost of serving a typical user in each of these categories. (2) If water use is metered, the rate for Categories A and B and the rate for Category C shall be based on winter quarter water use in accordance with the following formula: Cu= VuC Where: Cu= Users charge per billing period Vu= Volume of winter quarter water use C = A charge per unit volume of water used based upon the cost of service per unit volume of normal, domestic-strength wastewater The user shall be charged this calculated amount and the applicable base charge as set forth in § 26-280. If any metered water service customer connects to the wastewater utility or makes a change in the use of the premises or substantially expands such premises,the General Manager shall make an estimate of the water consumption on such premises during an average winter month based upon a count of plumbing fixtures, consumption of similar customers or other information relevant to such determination and such estimate when made shall be the basis for the wastewater service charge until the actual winter use for the premises can be determined. (3) In addition to the applicable base charge set forth in§26-280,the rate for Category D shall be based upon the user's consumption of water in accordance with the following formula: Cu= VuC Where: Cu= Users charge per billing period Vu= Volume of water used per billing period C = A charge per unit volume of water used based upon the cost of service per unit volume of normal, domestic-strength wastewater (4) In addition to the applicable base charge set forth in § 26-280, users in Categories D, E and F shall be billed upon the basis of metered water consumption except where they can show to the satisfaction of the General Manager that not all of the water going through the water meter is returned to the wastewater system but is instead consumed or otherwise diverted. In such cases, and with the approval of the General Manager,the wastewater charges may be based upon one (1) of the following methods: (a) a metering device of a type and installed in a manner approved by the General Manager may be used to measure the quantity of wastewater returned to the public sewer and the actual volume of wastewater discharged will be substituted in the formula for billing purposes; or (b) when the user discharges only wastes reasonably and regularly corresponding to winter quarter water use, said winter quarter water use maybe substituted in the formula for billing purposes.Any metering device used to measure wastewater shall be installed and maintained at the user's expense. (5) The rate for users in Category G shall be as set forth in § 26-280. (6) The rate for users in Category H shall be determined by negotiation with the party concerned. However, the rate shall be based upon cost of service and shall not be less than that of in-City users and shall include any wastewater strength surcharges. Section2. That Section 26-28Oofthe Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-280. Service charges established by category. The schedule of rates for each category described in § 26-279 shall be as follows: Category Class of Customer Rate Single-family residential user(flat $20.67 per month A rate) Single-family residential user $9.12 per month plus$1.820per 1,000 gallons of eith (metered water use) winter quarter water use or 3,000 gallons,whichever is greater B Duplex(two-family)residential $32.79 per month users(flat rate) Duplex(two-family)residential $12.17 per month plus$1.820 per 1,000 gallons of users(metered water use) either winter quarter water use or 4,000 gallons, whichever is greater C Multi-family residential user(more $1.820 per 1,000 gallons of winter quarter water use, than two dwelling units including plus a base charge of$1.44 per month per dwelling mobile home parks)and winter unit served quarter based nonresidential user D Minor nonresidential user $1.820 per 1,000 gallons of water use,measured sewage flow or winter quarter water use,whichever is applicable,plus the following applicable base charge: Size of water meter(inches] Base charge 'I/ or smaller 6.14 1 14.03 1 1/2 28.40 2 47.53 3 78.98 4 132.64 6 650.30 8 706.14 E and F Intermediate nonresidential and $1.820 per 1,000 gallons of water use,measured Significant industrial user wastewater flow or winter quarter water use,whichev is applicable;plus a surcharge of$1.744 per million gallons for each milligram per liter of suspended solids in excess of 250 milligrams per liter;plus a surcharge of$1.464 per million gallons for each milligram per liter of BOD in excess of 200 milligrams per liter or a surcharge of$0.903 per million gallons for each milligram per liter of COD in excess of 300 milligrams per liter,or a surcharge of$2.621 per million gallons for each milligram per liter of TOC in excess of 100 milligrams per liter,whichever is applicable.The user shall pay this calculated amount plus the applicable base charge set forth below: Size of water meter Base charge (inches) 3/4 or smaller $6.14 1 14.03 1 1/2 28.40 2 47.53 3 78.98 4 132.64 6 650.30 8 706.14 G User outside City limits The rate for users outside the City limits shall be the same as for like service inside the City limits as is specified in Categories A—F and H in this Section H Special with agreement The rate pursuant to a special wastewater services agreement approved by the City Council pursuant to§26- 290 shall be set forth in said agreement. Section 3. That paragraph(a)of Section 26-282 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-282. Wastewater strength or industrial surcharges and categories established. (a) The schedule of wastewater strength surcharge for customers located either inside or outside the city limits shall be as follows: Excess over Rate per Parameter (mg/V 1,000 gallons BOD 200 $ 0.001464 COD 300 0.000903 TOC 100 0.002621 TSS 250 0.001744 Section 4. That paragraphs(a)and(d)of Section 26-282 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins is hereby amended to read as follows: Sec. 26-284. Sewer plant investment fees and surcharges established. (a) The schedule of sewer plant investment fees, subject to the exceptions and additional requirements provided in this Section, is as follows: Category SPIF A $2,223 B and C $ 1 ,583 for each dwelling unit or mobile home space Category Water meter size (inches) Fee D, E, F 3/4 $ 4,749 1 12,151 1%z 21,965 2 38,865 3 81,086 4 and above Calculated on an individual basis based on peak wastewater flow (determined in the manner set forth hereinafter) but not less than the charge for a three-inch meter G Same as equivalent category, plus any special sanitation district fees. H Determined pursuant to paragraph (d) of this Section. (d) The amount of the plant investment fee and surcharge for each nonresidential surcharged user,users in Category H and any user that is expected to generate greater than its proportionate share of peak day flow at the treatment plant for the applicable category (including both contributed wastewater volume and volume related to infiltration and inflow),shall be calculated utilizing the following formula: SPIF =Flow x [Flows + (BOD x BOD,) + (TSS x TSS,)] Where: SPIF = Plant investment fee for Category H users and users discharging wastewater with average concentrations of BOD and/or TSS which exceed those average concentrations which are set forth in § 26- 282(b) under Category E-34 Flow= The user's proportionate share of peak day flow at the treatment plant including both contributed wastewater volume and volume related to infiltration and inflow Flow$ _ $3.59 per gallon (unit cost of facilities attributable to treating wastewater flow) BOD = Average BOD concentration for user category or measured BOD concentration for the user as determined in accordance with Subsection (c) of this Section, but not less than 200 mg/l BODs= $0.0078 per mg/l(unit cost of facilities attributable to treating BOD) TSS = Average TSS concentration for user category or measured TSS concentration for the user as determined in accordance with Subsection (c) of this Section,but not less than 250 mg/l TSS$ _ $0.0062 per mg/l (unit cost of facilities attributable to treating TSS) (e) The plant investment fee and surcharge for users in Categories D, E,F and G shall be the greater of that calculated utilizing the formula set forth in Subsection (d)of this Section or the plant investment fee for the applicable water meter size set forth in Subsection (a) of this Section. (f) For purposes of this Section,the proportionate share ofpeak day flow at the treatment plant for users in categories D, E and F shall be deemed to be: Water meter size Peak flow(gallons per day) (inches) '/< 709 1 1,814 1'/z 3,279 2 5,802 3 12,105 4 and greater Calculated on an individual basis based on user's proportionate share of peak day flow at the treatment plant (including both contributed wastewater volume and volume related to infiltration and inflow) but not less than the peak day flow for a three-inch meter Section 5. That a new section is hereby added to the Code of the City of Fort Collins to be numbered as Section 26-290 and it shall read as follows: Sec. 26-290. Agreements for special wastewater services. Special services or complex service arrangements that are beyond those required for basic wastewater service may be arranged by a written services agreement which the General Manager may negotiate and enter into on behalf of the wastewater utility. Said agreement shall establish the terms and conditions for any such special services or arrangements and shall incorporate by reference the requirements of this Chapter, as applicable. Any special services agreement modifying the rates, fees or charges for said services from those set forth in this Article shall be subject to approval by the City Council in accordance with § 6 of Article XII of the Charter. Section 6. That the amendments to Chapter 26 of the City Code contained herein shall go into effect on January 1, 2007. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 17th day of October,A.D. 2006, and to be presented for final passage on the day of November,A. . 2006. Mayo ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 7th day of ber, A.D. 2006. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk