OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Milwaukee City Council Study Session: Utility Billing Assistance and Capital Improvement Program Prioritization - September 11, 2025

City Council — Thursday, September 11, 2025
BodyMilwaukie, Oregon
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, September 11, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:55:03

Transcript — Verbatim
28:12

You ready?

28:14

Yeah, Nicole's turning on the recording.

28:20

We're good to go.

28:21

All right.

28:21

So study session today, starting with presentation on utility utility billing and assistance.

28:29

Michael, I was born in Amy Randis.

28:32

Thank you.

28:50

We wanted to throw into, but um, we're just trying to limit our presentation to 20 minutes and open it up in 20 minutes for all questions.

29:01

I wanted to start by saying that a year ago, this position was unfilled.

29:17

And also it's a face of the city, and like there's a lot of conversations that we're having with residents in utility billing.

29:33

Somebody that's patient, uh, has hard conversations with people, and does it with grace, and I am static that she's here.

29:44

So I'm glad that she's here, and you guys get a chance to talk to her and see how great the person she is.

30:00

Um we just kind of want to tell a little bit about what utility billing does, what administrative tools we have, uh, what the monthly shutoff process is, what our utility assistance program is and how that works, what other external outside uh resources we have, what other cities are in our uh region are doing that are our size and how we compare to that, and then kind of a little bit of how different things that we do, how those impact the utility rates going forward.

30:34

First off is I kind of put this together, Amy and I, on a what her duties are.

30:42

And there's different stages in the month.

30:45

There's the beginning of the month, the middle of the month, the end of the month, and at the beginning, you can kind of read through it.

30:51

She was doing fast due notices and calls.

30:54

Um of this I'll get into a little later, but we contract with an outside firm meter readers that goes out and reads physically reads our meters.

31:05

We don't have an automated system.

31:07

Um so we're doing that.

31:10

Um, we're in touch with uh commercial businesses for we have things called deduct meters, and um some of our customers, our commercial customers, we have to contact them to give us the support those.

31:26

Uh we run aging reports, I shouldn't say we maybe.

31:30

And uh we also contact uh customers uh who are on the past due notice.

31:36

So that's kind of the beginning of the month stuff, which flows into our mid-month.

31:41

Uh we're we do uh an abnormal uh consumption reports.

31:48

If somebody is way above like a threat zero or at over 10 CCF uh per month, we kind of do an analysis of hey, is this normal?

31:58

Is this a correct read?

32:00

Is there a leak?

32:02

Something like that.

32:04

Uh we prepare uh for the shutoff process, which we'll get into.

32:09

Um we submit uh all accounts uh for leak checks and adjustments for our approval process, and then we also send um people to pass due to collections.

32:22

Mike, just before you go on, I think one thing on that abnormal consumption report, like I think the meter readers is because this is all annual process, there's human error.

32:31

So, yes, it could take point to a leak, it could point to a misread, and there's a staff capacity challenge then of our public work staff going out to verify those potential misreads.

32:43

So um I'm just gonna briefly highlight some of these, but we go through and we get the meter read file back, we do an audit of that, make sure everything looks good.

32:55

It's kind of to Emma's point.

32:58

When meter readers reads it, if it's a misread or a leak, then public work steps in, and then our staff goes out and has to take time out of their day to go and reread the meter or to look and see if there's a leak.

33:12

So that's more uh burden and administration on the city and public works.

33:18

Um sense of how many months that averages.

33:25

I would probably say 15 to 20.

33:30

And as far as misreads and rereads.

33:33

Um lead checks, I would probably say estimate maybe 10.

33:41

Um meter checks.

33:44

Sorry, for terminology, but it's when the meters don't want a reading.

33:48

I would say, you know, maybe there's 15, 20 of those.

33:51

So when you add them all up together, it's a lot of things.

33:54

Quite a few of them extra.

33:56

Yeah, service orders for the scrum.

34:00

And this is for another conversation, but something that Peter and I talk about is AMI meters and exploring that.

34:08

A lot of other cities in the region are going to that.

34:10

It's an initial cost uh capital investment.

34:15

I was figuring between like two million dollars around there, but the cost of meter readers is going up.

34:21

It's over 100,000 a year now that we're paying for that.

34:25

So at some point there's a tipping point where we want to go automated, and a huge benefit to that is meter readers is going out and reading once every 30 days.

34:35

If we could do AMI, we can do that once every hour, once every 15 minutes.

34:41

If somebody has a leak, we're finding it faster than our current process.

34:46

And what is the capital cost more or less for switching to a system?

34:50

It's going at the time and labor to go out to all the uh meters and switch the meters out, cost of the meters.

35:00

You think it's like two million for the system, but then it depends.

35:03

It depends on what you want your system to look like and how it communicates.

35:08

So uh what's that?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water And Wastewater Management███████████████████████████████████████39%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████████████████30%
Public Engagement████4%
Affordable Housing████4%
Community Engagement████4%
Fiscal Sustainability███3%
Public Contracting███3%
Procedural██2%
Economic Development██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Milwaukee City Council Study Session: Utility Billing Assistance and Capital Improvement Program Prioritization - September 11, 2025

The Milwaukee City Council held a study session on September 11, 2025, to discuss two major agenda items: a presentation on utility billing and assistance programs, and a comprehensive update on the Capital Improvement Program (CIP), including project prioritization criteria and a proposed sewer line relocation project. The meeting included detailed presentations from staff, council member questions, and direction for future actions.

Utility Billing and Assistance Presentation

  • Staff (Michael and Amy Randis) presented an overview of the utility billing department, including duties, monthly cycle, meter reading (currently manual, contracted), and the monthly shutoff process. They noted that the city uses Tyler Technologies software, which is functional but not highly flexible.
  • The city currently has about 7,000 accounts, with 260 customers receiving past due notices monthly, 75 receiving door hanger notices, and an average of 12 shutoffs per month. The staff emphasized that the low shutoff number is due to proactive outreach by Amy, who handles hard conversations with empathy.
  • The Utility Assistance Program (UAP) currently serves 127 customers (2% of accounts), with income thresholds based on HUD very low-income (50% of median). The program waives certain fees and provides a discount. Staff also discussed external resources: St. Vincent DePaul ($7,000 city budget), Clackamas County Utility Support, and 211/United Way. An internal hardship fund of $5,000 is also available.
  • Council discussed three potential changes: (1) increasing enrollment under current thresholds, (2) expanding eligibility to 80% HUD low-income, and (3) deepening discounts. Council members expressed a preference for a sequential approach, starting with outreach to increase enrollment. They directed staff to focus on that first step and report back in December 2025 with results and data on potential rate impacts.
  • Council also discussed the feasibility of setting a target population and using qualitative data from customer interactions. Staff will explore outreach strategies such as workshops at the library and social media campaigns.

Capital Improvement Program Updates and Prioritization Framework

  • Staff (Jen, Peter, and others) provided updates on several projects: completion of the dog park, Washington area improvements (finishing in October), eight miles of street paving, and a planned one-year pause on slurry seal to develop a five-year plan. The pause will allow for better coordination with other utility work.
  • Projects in progress: Harvey Street (construction starting mid-October), Waverly Heights (delayed due to easements), Waverly South and 26th Avenue (60% design), and the Monroe Greenway (design phase with public engagement in October).
  • Staff presented a new prioritization framework for CIP projects, using weighted criteria: policy alignment (weight 3), regulatory compliance (weight 3), asset condition (weight 2), equity (weight 2), environmental sustainability (weight 2), community engagement (weight 2), external funding (weight 2), economic development (weight 2), and sound fiscal stewardship (weight 1). Sample scores ranged from 15 to 41 for various projects.
  • Council requested more detailed sub-criteria before finalizing the framework. Staff will provide the methodology notes to council for review. The full draft CIP is expected in February 2026.
  • A major discussion centered on the Kellogg Creek pump station/sewer line relocation project, estimated at $4.5 million. The project is part of a larger dam removal and habitat restoration effort. Financing options include using reserves and a 2.5% rate increase over several years to maintain fund balances. Staff noted that the project would require significant staff capacity, potentially delaying other projects.
  • Council members expressed varied views: some supported including the project in further CIP planning, while others were concerned about staff capacity and project delays. Ultimately, council directed staff to include the project in future CIP analysis, with further exploration of external funding and partnership opportunities. Council also emphasized that the project team should bear the primary delivery burden, not the city's staff.

Key Outcomes

  • Council directed staff to prioritize increasing enrollment in the existing Utility Assistance Program (UAP) before expanding eligibility or deepening discounts. Staff will report back in December 2025 with outreach results, data on target population, and rate impact analysis.
  • Council directed staff to include the Kellogg Creek project in future CIP planning for further analysis of rate impacts, staff capacity, and potential external funding. Staff will return in November 2025 with more details on trade-offs and financing options.
  • Council will receive the detailed sub-criteria for the CIP prioritization framework for review before the November meeting.
  • The Mayor shared historical information about the naming of Harvey Street, linked to a 1910 murder trial. The renaming policy will be discussed at the October 21, 2025 council meeting.

Meeting Transcript

You ready? Yeah, Nicole's turning on the recording. We're good to go. All right. So study session today, starting with presentation on utility utility billing and assistance. Michael, I was born in Amy Randis. Thank you. We wanted to throw into, but um, we're just trying to limit our presentation to 20 minutes and open it up in 20 minutes for all questions. I wanted to start by saying that a year ago, this position was unfilled. And also it's a face of the city, and like there's a lot of conversations that we're having with residents in utility billing. Somebody that's patient, uh, has hard conversations with people, and does it with grace, and I am static that she's here. So I'm glad that she's here, and you guys get a chance to talk to her and see how great the person she is. Um we just kind of want to tell a little bit about what utility billing does, what administrative tools we have, uh, what the monthly shutoff process is, what our utility assistance program is and how that works, what other external outside uh resources we have, what other cities are in our uh region are doing that are our size and how we compare to that, and then kind of a little bit of how different things that we do, how those impact the utility rates going forward. First off is I kind of put this together, Amy and I, on a what her duties are. And there's different stages in the month. There's the beginning of the month, the middle of the month, the end of the month, and at the beginning, you can kind of read through it. She was doing fast due notices and calls. Um of this I'll get into a little later, but we contract with an outside firm meter readers that goes out and reads physically reads our meters. We don't have an automated system. Um so we're doing that. Um, we're in touch with uh commercial businesses for we have things called deduct meters, and um some of our customers, our commercial customers, we have to contact them to give us the support those. Uh we run aging reports, I shouldn't say we maybe. And uh we also contact uh customers uh who are on the past due notice. So that's kind of the beginning of the month stuff, which flows into our mid-month. Uh we're we do uh an abnormal uh consumption reports. If somebody is way above like a threat zero or at over 10 CCF uh per month, we kind of do an analysis of hey, is this normal? Is this a correct read? Is there a leak? Something like that. Uh we prepare uh for the shutoff process, which we'll get into. Um we submit uh all accounts uh for leak checks and adjustments for our approval process, and then we also send um people to pass due to collections. Mike, just before you go on, I think one thing on that abnormal consumption report, like I think the meter readers is because this is all annual process, there's human error. So, yes, it could take point to a leak, it could point to a misread, and there's a staff capacity challenge then of our public work staff going out to verify those potential misreads. So um I'm just gonna briefly highlight some of these, but we go through and we get the meter read file back, we do an audit of that, make sure everything looks good. It's kind of to Emma's point. When meter readers reads it, if it's a misread or a leak, then public work steps in, and then our staff goes out and has to take time out of their day to go and reread the meter or to look and see if there's a leak. So that's more uh burden and administration on the city and public works. Um sense of how many months that averages. I would probably say 15 to 20. And as far as misreads and rereads. Um lead checks, I would probably say estimate maybe 10. Um meter checks. Sorry, for terminology, but it's when the meters don't want a reading. I would say, you know, maybe there's 15, 20 of those. So when you add them all up together, it's a lot of things. Quite a few of them extra. Yeah, service orders for the scrum. And this is for another conversation, but something that Peter and I talk about is AMI meters and exploring that. A lot of other cities in the region are going to that. It's an initial cost uh capital investment.

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