Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting - October 27, 2021: Storm Drainage Rate Workshop #3 and Historic Storm Update
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Utilities Rate Advisory Commission Meeting - October 27, 2021: Storm Drainage Rate Workshop #3 and Historic Storm Update
On October 27, 2021, the Sacramento Utilities Rate Advisory Commission (URAC) held a virtual meeting at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the Department of Utilities' Storm Drainage Rate Workshop #3, including a revised rate structure and an update on a historic storm event that occurred over the preceding weekend.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the minutes from September 22, 2021, by a vote of 4-0, with Chair Thomas abstaining.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public spoke during the meeting. One eComment was received, and staff is responding to it.
Discussion Items
- Historic Storm Update (October 23-24, 2021): Director Bill Busath reported that the city received 5.44 inches of rain in a 24-hour period, breaking a record set in 1888 (5.28 inches). The event was classified as a 500-year storm. The Department of Utilities activated its operations center on Saturday at noon, deploying 85-90 personnel on 12-hour shifts, including ~70 field staff. While significant street flooding occurred, property flooding was minimal, attributed to system improvements such as the newly operational McKinley Vault, which captured 6 million gallons of water. The vault was designed for a 10-year storm but performed well during this extreme event. Busath noted that aging infrastructure (e.g., pump stations, communication systems) presented challenges, but redundancy kept impacts low. The storm underscored the need for continued system renewal and capacity improvements.
- Storm Drainage Rate Workshop #3 (Item 2): Staff presented a revised rate structure for storm drainage fees, based on feedback from Commissioner Fidel at the previous workshop. Key changes:
- Multifamily rates were restructured into three density tiers (high, medium, low) instead of a single rate, better aligning charges with impervious surface runoff.
- Rates are calculated using impervious surface coefficients (ISCs) developed by the state. For example, a high-density apartment (50+ units/acre) would pay $0.67/unit/month; medium-density $2.41/unit/month; low-density $5.84/unit/month. Single-family rates remain based on parcel size.
- Non-residential rates unchanged, with ISCs ranging from 0.19 (agriculture) to 0.86 (industrial/retail/commercial). A sample commercial property (53,000 sq ft) would pay $75/month.
- Staff emphasized that no storm drainage rate increase has occurred since 1996 and will include this fact in outreach materials.
- Outreach includes meetings with stakeholders (business, multifamily, labor, environmental groups) and six webinars planned for December 2021.
- Schedule: Next URAC meeting November 17, 2021 (Workshop #4 with survey results); protest mailer sent shortly after; ballot election February-March 2022; rate adoption by City Council April 2022; implementation July 1, 2022.
- Commissioner Q&A:
- Vice Chair Vander Werf: Asked about exempt properties (vacant parcels without impervious surfaces) and confirmed commissioners can attend outreach webinars; will be invited.
- Commissioner Fidel: Thanked staff for revising multifamily rates; will meet offline with staff and consultants to discuss tier thresholds (a meeting with less than a quorum of commissioners is permissible under Brown Act).
- Commissioner Lee: Inquired about voting process. Staff explained it will be an issue-specific ballot initiative, with one ballot mailed per customer (property owner per bill). Results will be tabulated by a consultant and verified by the City Clerk’s office.
- Commissioner Biering: Confirmed the new structure better approximates cost-of-service by linking runoff to impervious surface area per unit.
- Commissioner Vander Werf (additional): Raised concern about renters indirectly impacted by rate changes. Staff agreed to consider renter outreach through webinars and broader advertising.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar minutes approved (4-0, Chair abstaining).
- Storm drainage rate workshop presentation received and filed; no vote required.
- Staff will share the multifamily density bar chart with all commissioners and schedule an offline discussion with Commissioners Fidel and Vander Werf (less than quorum) to refine tier boundaries.
- Staff will explore renter outreach strategies for the rate adjustment.
- Next meeting: URAC Workshop #4 on November 17, 2021.
Meeting Transcript
Thank you, Chair. We are live and staff is ready when you are. Outstanding. Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the October 27th 2021 regular meeting of the City of Sacramento's Utilities Rate and Advisory Commission, also known as URAC. I will now call the meeting to order. Madam Clerk, would you please call the role to establish a form? Yes, thank you, Chair. Commissioners, if you have not yet, please unmute and turn on your video. Commissioner Baring. Here. Commissioner Fidel. I'm here. Commissioner Gutowski is absent. Commissioner Lee. Here. Vice Chair Van Der Wolf Worf. I'm I apologize. Okay, so it's a long last name. I'm here. Thank you. And Chair Thomas. Present. Thank you. We have quorum. Outstanding. This meeting is as they have been for the past year virtual via Zoom. For members of the public who wish to join, please refer to the agenda for the Zoom link. Once you have joined the meeting, and if you wish to speak, please raise your hand and to provide the public comment. And when the chair confirmed that the public comment speaking period for your desired item. If you're online, please click the raise your hand button on your screen, and we will call on you appropriately. And those of you on a mobile app, if the mobile app in the in the mobile app, I should say, you can raise your hand by tapping the raise hand option in the more tab. If you're calling via telephone, please raise your hand. The sequence is dial star nine star nine. That's that little start thing aside, star and uh that will then unmute the mute. Uh Dow star six. Uh speakers will be called on by their last four digits of their phone number. You'll have two minutes. I repeat you will have two minutes once you were called on. Uh the commission will now hear the consent calendar. Item one, consent calendar. Madam Clerk. And so far as our last consent count consent calendar is concerned. Is there a motion? I move to I move to uh adopt the previous minutes. Second. Excuse me, guys. Um Chair Thomas, this is the clerk's office. We have a motion by Commissioner Lee and a second by Commissioner Baring. And I can proceed with the roll call vote. Please do.
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