HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 243-08City of Palo Alto
City Manager’s Repor
TO:
ATTENTION:
FROM:
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
FINANCE COMMITTEE
CITY MANAGER
BUDGET @
DEPARTMENT: PUBLIC WORKS
DATE:MAY 13, 2008 CMR:243:08
SUBJECT:ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION AMENDING UTILITY RATE
SCHEDULE D-1 (STORM AND SURFACE WATER DRAINAGE) TO
INCREASE STOILM DRAIN RATES BY 3.8% TO $10.95 PER MONTH
(PER EQUIVALENT RESIDENTIAL UNIT)
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that Council approve the attached resolution (Attachment A) amending Utility
Rate Schedule D-1 (Stolxn and Surface Water Drainage), to implement a 3.8% rate increase to
$10.95 per month per Equivalent Residential Unit beginning in Fiscal Year 2008-09.
BACKGROUND
On April 26, 2005, a majority of Palo Alto property owners approved a ballot measure
authorizing an increase in the monthly Storm Drainage Fee to fund storm drain capital
improvements and augmented maintenance. The approved ballot measure contained an annual
fee escalator clause that permits the Council to increase the Storm Drainage Fee each year to
account for inflation. Specifically, the ballot measure stated that:
"In order to offset the effects of inflation on labor and material costs, the proposed
fee increase would be subject to annual increases beyond the initial $10.00 per
Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) rate as of July 1 of each year, starting in 2006.
Inflation adjustments would be based on the lesser of the local rate of inflation
(based on the change in the Consumer Price Index [CPI] for the San Francisco-
Oakland-San Jose CMSA, published by the United States Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics) or 6 percent. The City Council would have the
authority and discretion to implement inflation adjustments on an annual basis as
part of the City budget process."
On May 9, 2005, Council approved a resolution increasing the Storm Drainage rate
schedule to $10.00 per month per ERU, effective June 1, 2005. The current rate,
approved by Counci! in 2007, is $10.55 per month per ERU.
CMR:243:08 Page 1 of 2
DISCUSSION
Staff has determined from Bureau of Labor Statistics. records that the local Consumer Price Index
increased by 3.8% between December 2006 and December 2007. Staff recommends that the
Storm Drainage Fee be increased by this amount in order to keep fund revenues consistent with
general cost increases. In order to enact the Storm Drainage Fee CPI.increase, Council must
approve the attached resolution amending Utility Rate Schedule D-! (Storm and Surface Water
Drainage). The new rate for the Storm Drainage Fee will be $t0.95 per month per ERU. Single-
family residential properties are billed a monthly amount based on parcel size, in accordance
with the following table:
RESIDENTIAL RATES (Single-Family Residential Properties)
PARCEL SIZE (sq.fto)ERU
< 6,000 sq.fl.0.8 ERU
6,000-11,000 sq.fL 1.0 ERU
> 11,000 sq.ft.1.4 ERU
Commercial, industrial, institutional, and multi-family residential properties are billed on a
monthly basis at a rate of 1.0 ERU for each 2,500 square feet of impervious surface on the
parcel.
TIMELiNE
The Storm Drainage Fee increase will take effect on July 1, 2008.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Adoption of changes to utility rate schedules does not represent a project under the California
Environmenta! Quality Act (CEQA).
ATTACHMENT
Attachment A: Resolution Amending Utility Rate Schedule D-1 (Storm and Surface Water
Drainage)
PREPARED BY:
DEPARTMENT HEAD:
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
J~’E TERESI
Senior Engineer
GLENN S. ROBERTS
C~ix.ector of Public Work~
~~~ILIE
Deputy CiD- M~agers
Storm Drain Oversight Committee
Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce
CMR:243:08 Page 2 of 2
NOT YET APPROVED
Attachment A
RESOLUTION NO
RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO
AMENDING UTILITY RATE SCHEDULE D-1 (STORM
AND SURFACE WATER DRAINAGE) TO INCREASE STORM
DRAIN RATES BY3.8% PER MONTH PER EQUIVALENT
RESIDENTIAL U2’~IT
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does RESOLVE as follows:
SECTION 1. Pursuant to Section 12.20.010 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code,
Utility Rate Schedule D-1 (StoiTn and Surface Water Drainage) is hereby amended to read in
accordance with sheet D-l-I, attached hereto and incorporated herein. The foregoing Utility
Rate Schedule, as amended, shall become effective July 1, 2008 and shall expire on June 1,
2017.
SECTION 2. The Council finds that the revenue derived from the authorized
adoption enumerated herein shall be used only for the purpose set forth in Article VII, Section 2,
of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto.
SECTION 3. The Council finds that this is not a project under the California
Environmental Quality Act and, therefore, no environmental impact assessment is necessary.
INTRODUCED AND PASSED:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
ATTEST:
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Mayor
APPROVED:
Sr. Asst. City Attorney City Manager
Director of Public Works
Director of Administrative Services
080501jb 6050447
GENERAL STORM AND SURFACE WATER DRAINAGE
UTILITY RATE SCHEDULE D- 1
A. APPLICABILITY:
This schedule applies to all storm and surface water drainage service, excepting only those users and
to the extent that they are constitutionally exempt under the Constitution of the State of California or
who are determined to be exempt pursuant to Rule and Regulation 25.
B.TERRITORY:
Inside the incorporated limits of the city of Palo Alto and land owned or leased by the city.
C.RATES:
Per Month:
Storm Drainage Fee per Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) .......................................................$10.95
D. SPECIAL NOTES:
An Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) is the basic unit for computation of storm drainage fees
for residential and non-residential customers. All single-family residentia! properties shall be
billed the number of ERUs specified in the following table, based on an analysis of the
relationship between impervious area and !ot size for Palo Alto properties.
RESIDENTIAL RATES (Single-Family Residential Properties
PARCEL SIZE (sq.ft.) I ERU
<6,000 sq.ft.I 0.8 ERU
6,000 - 11,000 sq.ft.1.0 ERU
>11,000 sq.ft.1.4 ERU
All other properties w4!l have ERU’s computed to the nearest 1/10 ERU using the following
formula:
No. of ERU Impervious Area (Sq. Ft.)
2,500 Sq. Ft.
2. For more details on the storm drainage fee, refer to Utilities Rule and Regulation 25.
CITY OF PALO ALTO UTILITIES
Issued by the City Council
Supersedes Sheet No.D-l-1 dated 7-1-2007
Effective 7-1-2008
Sheet No.D-l-1