Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting - April 23, 2014
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Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting - April 23, 2014
The Utilities Rate Advisory Commission (URAC) met on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, at 5:33 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber. The meeting covered routine approvals, a revised 2014 meeting calendar, an update on the Department of Utilities Accountability Plan, and a comprehensive financial update on the water, wastewater, and storm drainage funds. The commission also selected three members to participate in a potential community stakeholder group for rate structure evaluation. The meeting adjourned at 7:21 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes for March 26, 2014: Moved by Steven Archibald, seconded by Carolyn Veal-Hunter. Passed with a vote of 4 ayes (Kevin Schubert, Douglas Brown, Steven Archibald, Carolyn Veal-Hunter) and one abstention (Timothy Horner). Christopher Butcher and Scott Brown were absent.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during the public comment period for matters not on the agenda.
Discussion Items
- 2014 URAC Meeting Calendar Revision: Staff presented a revised calendar adding three Wednesdays: September 10, October 8, and November 5, 2014, to provide flexibility for potential rate hearings. The motion to approve passed unanimously (6 ayes, with Scott Brown absent).
- Department of Utilities Quarterly Accountability Plan Update: Director Dave Brent provided updates on the capital improvement program (including the water treatment plant and Oak Park regional storage project), the utility rate assistance program expanded to 200% of poverty level, drought conservation efforts (March savings of 16% overall, city accounts saved over 50%), and the rate adjustment planning process. He noted that a cost-of-service study and rate structure study are underway, with consultants Roth’s Telus (rate structure) and SCI (drainage rate polling) engaged. A community stakeholder group may be formed to provide input on rate structure evaluations. The commission discussed the role of commissioners in that group. Commissioner Archibald initially requested a direct staff-level liaison role, but staff clarified that designating two commissioners to the stakeholder group would provide sufficient insight. After discussion, the commission agreed to assign three members: Steven Archibald, Timothy Horner, and Carolyn Veal-Hunter (with Commissioner Horner volunteering as a full participant). The city attorney noted that three participants is acceptable and does not constitute a separate meeting. The quarterly update was received and filed.
- Department of Utilities Financial Update: Jamille Moens and Susan Goodison presented a detailed financial overview covering fund structures (water, wastewater, storm drainage), budget-to-actual comparisons, bond issuances (water revenue bonds of $215M producing $239.5M proceeds; wastewater bonds of $30.8M producing $33.7M proceeds), FY2014-15 budget projections, water meter transition progress (43% residential metered as of 2013), and the impact of drought on revenues. Key points: The water fund FY2015 budget incorporates a 10% rate increase effective July 1, 2014, but also assumes a 20% mandatory conservation throughout the year, reducing projected revenues by $8.1 million. The wastewater fund includes a 14% rate increase. The storm drainage fund remains without a rate increase since 1996 and faces a structural deficit. The commission requested additional data on fund balances, debt service schedules (full amortization), and a clearer presentation of PAYGO capital contributions. The presentation was received and filed.
Key Outcomes
- Approved the revised 2014 meeting calendar (unanimous vote).
- Received and filed the Department of Utilities Quarterly Accountability Plan Update.
- Designated Commissioners Steven Archibald, Timothy Horner, and Carolyn Veal-Hunter to participate in the community stakeholder group for rate structure evaluation (when formed).
- Received and filed the Department of Utilities Financial Update; staff will provide updated financial projections, fund balance history, and full debt service schedules at a future meeting.
- Noted that binders with background materials (including Brown Act, Prop 218, and bond official statements) will be distributed to commissioners before the next meeting.
Meeting Transcript
Advisory commission. And we do have a quorum, it looks like, but I'm gonna have Patrick call the roll first. Oh we do not have an attorney. He's actually right out of the uh Is he? All right. What do you want to call the role, Patrick? Christopher Butcher. Kevin Schubert? Here. Douglas Brown. Here. Stephen Archibald. Here. Timothy Horner? Here. Scott Brown. Carolynville Hunter. You have a quorum. All right. And so public comments matters not on the agenda. We don't have any public here. So we'll move to the consent calendar, which is approval of the minutes for the March 26, 2014 meeting. And do we have any discussion or a motion to approve those minutes? All right, we have a motion. We have a second. I'll second. All right. And we have a second. So all in favor of approving the minutes. Say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstain? Abstain. Okay. We are moving on to discussion item. I'm ready to borrow that. Yes. Okay. We are moving on to Aaron discussing the discussion item. The first discussion item. Uh thank you, Chair. We are looking at revising our 2014 meeting calendar. The reason being both with uh solid waste and recycling and utilities uh looking at uh the business we believe we're going to be bringing forth to the URAC over the remainder of the year. Uh we anticipate we may need an extra meeting or two uh to do that and get some flexibility as well with scheduling. Um the advantage to calendaring these uh extra meetings now is then they would be considered regular meetings. So if we move into a situation such as a rate hearing uh for recycling and solid waste, if uh during the hearing there's a need to continue an item, uh we have some more meeting dates options for us. Also they become regular if by calendaring them now, they're considered regular meetings, and that allows us to put other items on the agenda, not just what might be continued from a previous meeting. Um in the past when we continue this from previous meetings, those become special meetings, and they can only address the item that was continued from a previous meeting. So we're just trying to provide some more flexibility.
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