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Record of Proceedings

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting - September 23, 2020

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission — Wednesday, September 23, 2020
BodySacramento, California
SessionUtilities Rate Advisory Commission
DateWednesday, September 23, 2020
StatusFILED
Video Record
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0:01

I didn't even say hey Ray, hey Melissa.

0:03

Didn't see didn't say hello to you guys.

0:15

Thank you for everyone for renaming or adding your title.

0:21

How are we on staff who to all from here is supposed to be here?

0:34

Okay.

0:35

Okay.

0:41

Okay.

0:42

And then we're we're good on commissioners.

0:49

Okay.

0:51

What am I supposed to do something to start?

0:54

Oh, I was supposed to do the countdown.

1:02

Okay, we've got a nine-second countdown into the start of the meeting.

1:06

Does that mean the music has to go?

1:09

That means the music's got to go.

1:12

I sorry.

1:16

Okay, we're live.

1:21

Good afternoon, good evening.

1:23

Um this is the September 23rd uh utilities rate and advisory commission meeting.

1:29

Um Anthony Thomas, Chairman of URAC, and we will call the meeting to order.

1:36

We will now have asked the clerk to call the roll, please.

1:41

Thank you.

1:42

Melissa Lee.

1:43

Here Brian Beering.

1:48

Megan Fidel.

1:50

Here.

1:52

Uh Rachel Ann Vanderwerf.

1:56

Here.

1:58

Connie Gutowski.

2:00

Here.

2:01

April Javis.

2:04

And P.

2:05

Anthony Thomas.

2:06

Present.

2:08

Commission has a quorum, and I just have a couple quick meeting announcements.

2:12

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

2:18

Please silence all cell phones and mobile devices.

2:21

If you wish to speak tonight, please call 916-808-7213 and follow the prompts.

2:30

And the agenda is located on the city's website.

2:34

Thank you.

2:36

Thank you very much, Madam Clerk.

2:42

Just want to mention on the agenda item.

2:50

Recycling solid waste.

2:51

We're gonna pull item number three.

2:54

We're not gonna discuss item three this evening.

2:56

Um it will be heard at a later time.

2:59

Now that'll be decided upon by staff, and so we'll present that item uh once it is actually rescheduled.

3:10

Are there any questions about that item being pulled or the reasons or anything along those lines?

3:19

Hearing and seeing none, uh, why don't we go to um item number one?

3:23

And that would be our consent calendar.

3:30

I move that the consent the consent calendar.

3:35

Actually, um does that include approving the minutes?

3:45

Yes, it would.

3:47

Oh, I'd like to make a motion to amend the minutes, actually.

3:52

Okay.

3:53

Um motion to amend the amendments is there a second.

3:57

I can second that.

3:59

Uh we have to have a roll call on that.

4:02

So um is there a discussion to indicate which um what the amendment would be sure um so I notice under mem member comments, ideas, questions, and meeting conference reports.

4:19

There are three items that summarize the meeting from last time.

4:24

And it strikes me that if um those three items are up there that we should probably also can include the conversation that we had about why city council didn't approve the last wastewater rate increase, or only approved it for a limited time.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Water Management█████████████████████████████████████████████46%
Utilities████████████████████20%
Procedural███████████████████19%
Budget and Finance█████████9%
Low-Income Assistance███3%
Community Engagement███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting - September 23, 2020

This meeting of the Sacramento Utilities Rate Advisory Commission (URAC) began at 5:30 p.m. on September 23, 2020, with Chairman Anthony Thomas presiding. The commission addressed a consent calendar item to approve and amend prior minutes, received a quarterly update on the Department of Utilities Accountability Plan, and deferred a workshop on proposed rate adjustments for recycling and solid waste services. Public comments were none, and the meeting adjourned at 6:21 p.m.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes – August 26, 2020: Commissioner Megan Fidel moved to amend the draft minutes to include a discussion from the previous meeting regarding why the city council did not fully accept the commission's last wastewater rate increase recommendation. The motion was seconded and passed by a vote of 6-0-1 (Commissioner Brian Beering abstained). The amended consent calendar was approved.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public comments were made.

Discussion Items

  • Department of Utilities Accountability Plan Quarterly Update: Staff presented the second quarter (March–June 2020) accountability plan. Key points included:
    • The Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) was released on June 1, 2020, ahead of the July 1 deadline, via utility bills, website, and social media.
    • A department newsletter focusing on the combined sewer system was distributed in June 2020.
    • Outreach included social media posts on stormwater pollution, water conservation, and flood preparedness.
    • Water capital financing: $113.8 million spent out of a $173.1 million DWSRF loan; $31.2 million encumbered. The 2017 water revenue bonds were fully expended, saving $30.31 million through FY2043.
    • Wastewater bonds: $14.9 million of $32 million (2019 bonds) spent; the 2020 refunding bonds ($27.97 million) saved $4.77 million through FY2043.
    • Excess fund balances in water and storm drainage funds ($43 days of working capital for water) resulted from conservative assumptions and lower costs. $9.5 million programmed for storm drainage CIP over next two fiscal years.
    • A reserve policy is under development.
  • Director's Report (Bill Busath) :
    • The Sacramento Utility Rate Assistance Program (URAP) now auto-enrolls customers quarterly using SMUD data, adding about 600 customers in the last quarter. FY20 program expenses were $3.2 million against a $3.8 million budget.
    • Sustainability efforts included piloting EPA's climate resilience evaluation tool, drafting a sustainability policy (expected in 3–4 months), and launching a DOU sustainability website.
    • Webinars on water conservation: "Breakup with Your Lawn" (May), "Irrigation for Your Trees" (June), and others in July and September.
    • Conservation rebates through SMUD: turf replacement, smart controllers, etc., saving roughly 20 million gallons of water per year (enough for 120 homes).
  • Report-back on Prior Questions:
    • Accounts receivable: Of approximately 140,000 accounts, about 70,000 had a balance owed in 2020 (down from 85,000 in 2019). 87% of those owed $200 or less. Staff noted higher bills due to the final year of rate increases and that a balance does not necessarily mean delinquency.
    • Water consumption trends during COVID: Single-family residential use increased 23% in April–June 2020 compared to 2019; overall consumption rose 8%. The 12-month rolling average was 166 GPCD (vs. 163 in 2019). Commissioners discussed the higher usage and its implications.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar Approved: Minutes from August 26, 2020, were approved as amended (vote 6-0-1).
  • Accountability Plan Received and Filed: The commission received the presentation and report, with staff directed to bring back modifications to the accounts receivable table as requested by Commissioner Gutowski and to report on CCR outreach to renters.
  • Deferral of Item 3: The workshop on proposed rate adjustment for Recycling and Solid Waste Services (RSW) was pulled from the agenda and will be heard at a later date.
  • Future Items: Staff will provide more information on smart irrigation controllers (cost, rebate, operation) at a future meeting. The department will also report back on enhancing CCR visibility and outreach to renters.

Meeting Transcript

I didn't even say hey Ray, hey Melissa. Didn't see didn't say hello to you guys. Thank you for everyone for renaming or adding your title. How are we on staff who to all from here is supposed to be here? Okay. Okay. Okay. And then we're we're good on commissioners. Okay. What am I supposed to do something to start? Oh, I was supposed to do the countdown. Okay, we've got a nine-second countdown into the start of the meeting. Does that mean the music has to go? That means the music's got to go. I sorry. Okay, we're live. Good afternoon, good evening. Um this is the September 23rd uh utilities rate and advisory commission meeting. Um Anthony Thomas, Chairman of URAC, and we will call the meeting to order. We will now have asked the clerk to call the roll, please. Thank you. Melissa Lee. Here Brian Beering. Megan Fidel. Here. Uh Rachel Ann Vanderwerf. Here. Connie Gutowski. Here. April Javis. And P. Anthony Thomas. Present. Commission has a quorum, and I just have a couple quick meeting announcements. This meeting is being video streamed and can be viewed on the city's website or viewed later from the archived files. Please silence all cell phones and mobile devices. If you wish to speak tonight, please call 916-808-7213 and follow the prompts. And the agenda is located on the city's website. Thank you. Thank you very much, Madam Clerk. Just want to mention on the agenda item. Recycling solid waste. We're gonna pull item number three. We're not gonna discuss item three this evening. Um it will be heard at a later time. Now that'll be decided upon by staff, and so we'll present that item uh once it is actually rescheduled. Are there any questions about that item being pulled or the reasons or anything along those lines? Hearing and seeing none, uh, why don't we go to um item number one? And that would be our consent calendar. I move that the consent the consent calendar.

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