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Record of Proceedings

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting – May 23, 2018

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission — Wednesday, May 23, 2018
BodySacramento, California
SessionUtilities Rate Advisory Commission
DateWednesday, May 23, 2018
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
5:00

Okay, we're gonna bring the meeting to order.

5:02

Um Patrick, will you call the role?

5:10

Present.

5:13

Present.

5:14

Lucy O'Garcia Present.

5:19

The Anthony Thomas.

5:20

Present.

5:21

April Javist.

5:23

Present.

5:23

All right, you have a quorum.

5:24

If I can read one quick meeting announcement, please.

5:27

This meeting is being video streamed and can be viewed on the city's website or viewed later from the archive files.

5:33

Please silence all cell phones and mobile devices.

5:36

If you wish to speak tonight, please complete a speaker slip located in the back of the room and return it to me at any time.

5:41

Copies of the agenda are also located in the back of the room.

5:44

And should you need any listening assistant devices, they are available from me upon request.

5:49

Thank you.

5:50

Thank you, Patrick.

5:52

Um, I think probably um Aaron's working on the music, although a lovely selection.

5:57

Um first we're gonna approve the minutes.

6:01

First on the agenda is to approve the minutes from March 28th, 2018.

6:05

Um, and if the board would like to take a look at that quickly, um, and see if there is a is there a motion to um approve the minutes.

6:16

So moved.

6:17

Okay, Brian moves.

6:18

Can I get a second?

6:19

Sorry.

6:22

Keith, are you a second?

6:23

Yeah.

6:23

Oh, okay, great.

6:25

Great.

6:26

And Patrick, I think that's you.

6:28

Okay.

6:30

Aye.

6:31

Brian Biering.

6:32

Aye.

6:33

Also Garcia.

6:35

Andrew Day.

6:36

Aye.

6:37

Anthony Thomas.

6:38

Aye.

6:38

And April Javist.

6:40

Aye.

6:40

Motion carries.

6:42

All right.

6:43

The next we're gonna have the Department of Utilities uh give an accountability plan.

6:48

And I think it's we have different presenters than um than are on the agenda.

6:54

Welcome.

6:56

Thanks.

6:58

Hello, Chair Javis and Commissioners.

7:01

My name's Dan Sherry.

7:02

I'm with the Department of Utilities.

7:04

I'm the engineering manager, and I'm gonna kind of fill it in for Bill tonight.

7:07

He's uh he's out having a great time.

7:09

So um what we'd like to do tonight is um present to you our accountability plan, um our director's report, and then um reporting back from the March 28th URAC, meaning there were several questions, so we have some responses back.

7:31

But what I'd also like to do is introduce we have quite a few people in the audience here that are staff that have quite a bit of knowledge that can answer um I think probably the majority of your questions.

7:43

So if you don't mind, I'd like to go ahead and introduce um, maybe not all of them, but but most of them.

7:51

Uh Ryan Pann, he's actually the newly elected or appointed, not elected, appointed um business services division manager, actually, just a couple days ago.

8:02

So you remember Susan Goodison.

8:05

Um Ryan is the replacement.

8:08

Um then Roshni Das our sustainability manager.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Utilities██████████████████████████████████████38%
Water Management████████████12%
Public Outreach███████████11%
Contractor Management██████████10%
Procedural████████8%
Budget and Finance████████8%
Customer Service█████5%
Water Conservation████4%
Public Works████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting – May 23, 2018

The Utilities Rate Advisory Commission (URAC) met on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers at 915 I Street. Chair April Javist called the meeting to order, roll call established a quorum, and the commission unanimously approved the minutes from March 28, 2018. The main agenda item was a quarterly update from the Department of Utilities (DOU) on its Accountability Plan, including financial reports, conservation outreach, and responses to prior meeting questions. Commissioners raised several follow-up issues and requested additional data for future meetings. No public comments were heard.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes (March 28, 2018): Motion carried unanimously (6-0).

Discussion Items

Department of Utilities Accountability Plan Quarterly Update

  • Presented by Dan Sherry (Engineering Manager) and Ryan Pam (new Business Services Manager). Topics included:
    • Community Outreach: Stormwater pollution prevention via partnership with Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership; paid media (English/Spanish radio, digital, transit ads) through June 2018; public opinion survey planned for summer.
    • Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Financing:
      • $25.1 million loan approved December 2017 for accelerated water meter program – $8 million expended, $22.7 million encumbered as of May 2018.
      • $62.6 million Series 2017 water revenue bonds – $44.4 million expended, $17.6 million encumbered.
      • Expecting to issue new water bond in early 2019; interim CIP funded with pay-go from FY16/17 and FY17/18 budgets.
    • Director’s Report:
      • Sacramento Utility Rate Assistance Program (SURA) grew 500% from 1,800 to 8,800 participants since 2016, expanded to five non-profit housing organizations, online multilingual application launched. FY18 budget $2.4 million, spending ~$1.75 million.
      • Water conservation: “Keep Sacramento Wise” campaign; two-day-per-week watering schedule since March 1; conservation web page users increased 100% (total) and 114% (new users); 50 rain barrels given away; leak-free program for low-income residents received 28 applications; online rebate forms for turf conversion, smart controllers, irrigation, rain barrels.
    • Responses to March 28 Questions:
      • Social media: 5,200 Facebook followers, 1,140 Twitter followers, ~150,000 contacts/month.
      • Local hire ethnicity: City does not track; could request from contractors if specified in contracts.
      • Water conservation budget: $1.4 million for advertising; FY18 campaigns generated over 12 million impressions.
      • Master meter billing for apartments: still researching other cities, no conclusions yet.
      • SURA logo: exploring feasibility with Sacramento Public Library.
      • SURA application via 311: discussing with city operators.
      • Handout font size: CIP dashboards reformatted for readability.

Commissioner Questions and Suggestions

  • Anthony Thomas: Expressed desire for increased contracting diversity – more women-owned, veteran-owned, and minority-owned businesses. Chair noted that contractor selection is beyond URAC’s rate purview but directed DOU staff to relay the suggestion to the Director and consider a memo or recommendation to City Council.
  • Brian Biering: Requested regular reporting of fund balances (water, stormwater, wastewater funds) and days of operating reserve. Chair supported creating a recurring dashboard for easy comparison.
  • Andrew Day: Asked for raw numbers behind the reported 100% web traffic increase. Sustainability Manager Roshni Das estimated pre-campaign baseline at about 4,000 users.
  • Brian Biering: Inquired about ratepayer feedback on “rate shock” from recent water rate increases, especially from those not qualifying for the assistance program. DOU agreed to pull customer service database records for the next meeting.
  • Keith: Emphasized researching conservation incentives for renters in master-metered apartments; noted the challenge of passing savings to tenants. DOU will continue exploring and reporting back.

Key Outcomes

  • Vote: Approval of March 28, 2018 minutes (unanimous).
  • Action: Received and filed the Accountability Plan Quarterly Update.
  • Directives:
    • DOU to provide fund balance reports with days of operating reserve at the next URAC meeting.
    • DOU to investigate and report ratepayer feedback on rate shock.
    • DOU to continue research on master meter conservation strategies and pursue SURA program enhancements (logo, 311 integration).
    • Chair to relay contracting diversity concerns to the DOU Director and potentially City Council.
  • Next Steps: Commissioners suggested a recurring dashboard for financial data; staff to follow up on all pending items.

No public comments were received. Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, we're gonna bring the meeting to order. Um Patrick, will you call the role? Present. Present. Lucy O'Garcia Present. The Anthony Thomas. Present. April Javist. Present. All right, you have a quorum. If I can read one quick meeting announcement, please. This meeting is being video streamed and can be viewed on the city's website or viewed later from the archive files. Please silence all cell phones and mobile devices. If you wish to speak tonight, please complete a speaker slip located in the back of the room and return it to me at any time. Copies of the agenda are also located in the back of the room. And should you need any listening assistant devices, they are available from me upon request. Thank you. Thank you, Patrick. Um, I think probably um Aaron's working on the music, although a lovely selection. Um first we're gonna approve the minutes. First on the agenda is to approve the minutes from March 28th, 2018. Um, and if the board would like to take a look at that quickly, um, and see if there is a is there a motion to um approve the minutes. So moved. Okay, Brian moves. Can I get a second? Sorry. Keith, are you a second? Yeah. Oh, okay, great. Great. And Patrick, I think that's you. Okay. Aye. Brian Biering. Aye. Also Garcia. Andrew Day. Aye. Anthony Thomas. Aye. And April Javist. Aye. Motion carries. All right. The next we're gonna have the Department of Utilities uh give an accountability plan. And I think it's we have different presenters than um than are on the agenda. Welcome. Thanks. Hello, Chair Javis and Commissioners. My name's Dan Sherry.

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