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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/07/2004, BUS 1 - UTILITY RATE STRUCTURE AND BILLING SYSTEM REVIEW council Mcti u December 7, 2004 j ac,Enaa nEpoRt CITY O F SAN LUIS O B I S P 0 FROM: John Moss,Utilities Director �( Bill Statler, Finance Director Prepared By- Sue Baasch,Administrative Analystlj SUBJECT: UTILITY RATE STRUCTURE AND BILLING SYSTEM REVIEW CAO RECOMMENDATION 1. Review and discuss utility rate structure and billing system issues. 2. Authorize the City Administrative Officer to issue a Request for Proposals for the following financial and engineering services: a. Review issues and make recommendations regarding the need for any modifications to the City's water and sewer rate structures; b. Provide an analysis of available utility billing systems; c. Provide an analysis of remote meter reading systems and the benefits/costs to be realized with remote read systems; and d. Provide an analysis and recommendation regarding billing frequency. 3. Authorize the City Administrative Officer to award a contract for the services, if within the estimate of$47,500. 4. Support expansion of City's utility billing services with web-enabled functionality. REPORT-IN-BRIEF The idea that account flexibility and choice is a part of customer satisfaction is a well-known concept in today's market place. For example, when purchasing a cell phone and a plan, customers choose the type of phone, the type of accessories, and the type and length of plan, based on their unique circumstances and life style. Does this concept have any applicability to the City's water and sewer systems? That is the question staff has been asking as they examine the whole subject of utility billing, possible enhancements and customer satisfaction. Why is this area a subject of concern to Utilities and Finance? Over the last few years, Utilities has been developing and implementing master plans to ensure that the water and sewer systems meet the community's needs as San Luis Obispo develops according to the General Plan. This means additional water supply, more aggressive conservation programs, upgraded treatment processes, new and upgraded infrastructure, and compliance with new regulations. Based on the General Plan master plan development, there will be additional costs, and, in turn, rates will most likely increase. (Note: new development must pay for its fair share of any resource requirements through impact fees). These higher rates will likely lead to higher charges and more substantial "bills". Accordingly, staff is focused on two parallel efforts. Staff will continue to evaluate all programs for cost—effectiveness (this is an ongoing practice); in addition, staff feels it is necessary to examine possibilities for making the payment process itself easier for our customers. Utility Rate Structure and Billing System Review Page 2 Utilities and Finance staff have looked at a number of opportunities for increasing customer service and enhancing our utility billing practices. This report presents preliminary information and research on water and sewer pricing issues and strategies; utility billing systems; automated meter reading systems; and billing frequency options, as well as provides an update on our plans for internet or web enhanced utility billing. Recommendations are presented at the end of each subject section of this report. The recommendations, for the most part, begin with setting policy, proceed to analysis, and then move to implementation. Council will be involved with all phases of the process. DISCUSSION Utilities and Finance staff began to look at the whole area of utility billing and potential for changes and enhancements last summer, following the long range forecast of increasing water and sewer rates. We were concerned about increasing water and sewer bills and the community's ability and willingness to pay. We knew we needed to continue our efforts to increase our customers' knowledge of our services. We also needed to evaluate how customers could pay: were we offering a variety of options to ensure that customers had the same type of flexibility and choices they might have from a private utility? Did our utility billing and rate structures support some of the programmatic changes we foresaw? For example,reservoir storage was down, and the lack of adequate rain was signaling the potential for drought actions and mandatory rationing. Would our utility billing system easily support our drought procedures? Would our utility billing software support the practice of designing water budgets for customers, a potential option being considered by our conservation staff. Did our customers feel the structures were equitable? Was it possible to provide customers more timely information and offer more flexibility in payment plans? Also, many communities were implementing automated meter reading. Was this technology reliable and would it fit our community? Would our billing software support automated meter reading? Should we consider a different schedule for meter reading and billing? And, at a basic level, we wondered if our water and sewer rate structures and goals would continue to serve us in the future. The issues grew as did our excitement at the opportunity to re-evaluate our systems, so that they would use the best technological and industrial advances to meet the future needs of San Luis Obispo. Who has been involved The information and recommendations in this report come from a committee representing both the Finance and Utilities Departments, who together provide water and sewer utility billing services. The representatives from Finance were Jodi Polk, Customer Services Supervisor, and Bill Statler, Finance Director. The representatives from Utilities were John Moss, Utilities Director, Gary Henderson, Water Division Manager, Dave Hix, Wastewater Division Manager, Ron Munds, Conservation Coordinator, and Sue Baasch, Administrative Analyst. .% Z i Utility Rate Structure and Billing System Review Page 3 The Outcome The result of our group's research and discussion to date is contained in this report. We consider the information preliminary and draftand are seeking Council direction as to the next steps. Following a brief summary of the information by identified category, staff has prepared a recommendation for Council consideration. This report is divided into the following sections: SECTION 1. Water and Sewer Rate Structures and Goals SECTION 2. Utility Billing Systems SECTION 3. Automated Meter Reading System Review SECTION 4. Billing Frequency The report concludes with a description of the web enhancements to our utility billing system which staff hopes to have in place in the next few months. SECTION 1. Water, Sewer, and Recycled Water Rate Structures and Goals A. Water Rate Structure In 1993, the City of San Luis Obispo City Council eliminated all minimum water charges and moved to an inverted two-tier water rate structure based solely on consumption. Basing water rates totally on use was somewhat an act of faith at that time-, it has proven to be both stable in terms of revenue generation as well as satisfying to customers because it recognizes those who conserve. Our water rate structure is a good foundation, but in our recent review, staff has found that modifications could be considered which might further our programs and be more customized to individual needs.. Rates could be seasonally adjusted to encourage efficient irrigation practices. Or rates could be set according to budgets. Water budget rate structures could have between three and four tiers ("blocks"),with the first two blocks based on average indoor use, the third on outdoor use, and the fourth set to indicate inefficient water use. The actual rates could be set according to cost of service. These budgets could be customized to each customer class: single family,multi-family, commercial, and irrigation only. It must be recognized that each of these modifications could have downsides as well as positive implications. Any changes must be evaluated in terms of fund revenue stability, ease of explanation and administration, or customer equity. For example, when a"three tier"system was considered in 1993, Council decided against it, because the business community was very opposed. A third tier resulted in even greater rate increases for most non-residential customers. In deciding which, if any, modifications might be appropriate for the City of San Luis Obispo, staff recommends beginning with a re-affirmation of the rate structure goals, as well as a weighting of those goals. Utility Rate Structure and Billing System Review Page 4 Our current rate structure goals are to: • Comply with legal requirements. ■ Encourage conservation ■ Ensure revenue adequacy to fully meet system operating and capital needs ■ Provide equity and fairness between classes of customers • Be easy to understand and easy to administer ■ Facilitate ongoing review to maintain rate stability. In 1993, staff observed that some of these goals were potentially in conflict. For example, a rate structure that provides maximum rate stability (fixed rates) will probably not encourage conservation efforts. A rate structure that is easy to understand will not necessarily be totally equitable between classes of customers. It is for this reason that staff would like a fresh look at the goals and a re-weighting of them, to ensure that the rate structure reflects the current philosophy of the Council. Rate structure evaluations are best performed outside of a revenue analysis, as any rate structure changes should be revenue neutral. Rate restructuring is done for programmatic and equity alignment; not for additional revenue. B. Sewer Rate Structure The above goals apply to the sewer rates as well; however, the weighting may be different. Our current sewer rate structure builds on an historical model of charges with annual percentage changes. Single family charges are set at a fixed rate, which supports revenue stability and is easy to administer; however,it could be modified to encourage and reward water conservation by adding a commodity-related component to the structure. The Utilities Department has received a number of inquiries from residential customers who feel that the fixed charge is neither fair nor reflective of their usage. Since any rate structure changes will need to be revenue neutral, if one customer pays less, another customer will pay more. Non-residential charges are largely based on water use. When staff reviewed the charges for a large commercial customer, the charges did not seem consistent with the amount of water and sewer use when compared to residential customers. For these reasons, staff questions the relationship between residential and non-residential customers and feel it should be reviewed to ensure equity and fairness between the classes of customers. Again, this type of structure modification begins best with a review of the goals. Another issue to be considered is strength factor: how should we account for the strength factor in the sewer charges, as the amount and the strength of the pollutants are both factors in the successful treatment of the City's wastewater, and, therefore, in the cost to treat the wastewater. Many communities have an additional surcharge for businesses discharging higher levels of pollutants to the sewer system. Utility Rate Structure and Billing System Review Page 5 C. Recycled Water Rate Structure The City Council has adopted a policy of pricing recycled water at 90% of the potable water supply. For its intended purpose (usually irrigation), recycled water is equal in value to potable water. The ten percent reduction was to recognize the industry standard that about 10% more watering may be required to ensure the flushing of any salt accumulation in the soils. Staff would like to include recycled water rates in any evaluation of changes or modifications to the water rates. Recommendations Direct staff to prepare a request for proposal for consultant services to analyze the City's water, sewer and recycled water rate structures with recommendations for modifications based on a review and resetting with the Council, if necessary, of City water and sewer rate structure goals. Section 2. Utility Billing Systems Because the utility billing system must be able to support any proposed changes in the rate structures, staff recommends that the consultants survey the currently available systems and rank them according to their ability to support the City's goals. As part of this process, staff also recommends a detailed analysis and evaluation of relevant business requirements for a utility billing system, regardless of the rate structure selected. For example, can the utility billing system generate bills unique to customer class types so that information can be targeted to customer groups? Is it easy to use and support from the City's side, as well as being well supported from the vendor side? Will it support automated meter reading? Does the software vendor support development and offer upgrades and support to the clients? Can the system meet the drought contingency requirements? Recommendation Direct staff to include an analysis of utility billing systems as the second step of the above- recommended consultant study of the City's water and sewer rate structures. Section 3. Automated Meter Reading System Review Automated meter reading (AMR) technology has been available for many years, but the local success (or lack there of) had convinced staff to wait until the use and reliability was more evident. Approximately 15% of water utilities throughout the United States currently use remote read technology. The vast majority of the currently installed AMR systems use the same type of system that the City currently uses for approximately 70 large commercial accounts. This system requires a vehicle to drive near the meter locations to pick up the meter reading via a radio signal. Our experience with this system is described in more detail later in this section. Other new technologies use satellite, phone lines or power lines to transmit data to the billing system without the need for staff to drive by the meter locations. Some of these systems are capable of reading the meter information at any time, capturing the information over a specified Utility Rate Structure and Billing System Review Page 6 time period, and enhancing the ability to monitor water use and to identify problems associated with high water use. The vast majority of the City's 14,150 meters are read manually every two months, and the reads are entered into portable handheld electronic recorders. Customer service staff must remove the lids from the meter boxes and visually determine the number of units of water recorded on the meter. This process is labor intensive, and, currently, three customer service workers dedicate approximately 35% of their time to reading meters. As the City has developed over time, the number of water meters has continued to increase, but the number of staff reading meters as remained constant. This increased workload has resulted in deferral of other maintenance and related activities. It is estimated that the number of water meters will increase by over 25% as the City approaches General Plan buildout. Several years ago, the City replaced all of the 1-'/z inch and larger meters throughout the water system with more accurate "Metron" meters. During this replacement project, approximately 70 meters in difficult access vaults were replaced with Metron meters having remote read capability. An electronic device attached to the meter transmits a low intensity radio signal. A computer installed in one of our service trucks receives the signal. Staff drive by the meter locations and the system automatically records the information that is then downloaded into the utility billing system to generate water bills. Following the initial installation, there was some difficulty with the downloading of the information from the one computer software system to the utility billing software system. In addition, the electronic devices installed in the meter boxes have had reliability and programming problems. The Metron meter company has replaced the devices three times with improved devices, at no charge to the City, but the City still experiences reading problems with about 5-8%of the installations. Assuming solid reliability of a new AMR system, a significant reduction in staff time for meter reading could be realized. This would allow current staff to address other maintenance issues and allow for increased preventative maintenance. With the anticipated growth of the City, if an AMR system is not implemented, additional staffing will be necessary to provide the meter reading services and provide adequate resources for maintenance of the water system. Recommendation Direct staff to include a review and recommendation for remote meter reading systems in conjunction with the evaluation of utility billing systems. The analysis will evaluate compatibility of AMR systems and the utility billing systems, evaluate reliability of different AMR systems, develop cost estimates for implementation and evaluate ongoing staffing resources needed to maintain and operate the system. Section 4. Billing Frequency What is the most appropriate frequency to read meters and bill customers? In private utilities,the standard is a monthly schedule, and, increasingly, this is the standard for public utilities, as well. The City of San Luis Obispo has historically read and billed on a bimonthly schedule. Realizing Utility Rate Structure and Billing System Review Page 7 the potential for increases in water and sewer bills, the need to consider more frequent billing becomes more and more compelling. When staff brought this issue to Council in the mid 90's, Council elected not to move to monthly utility billing at that time because the Council felt that the negatives (cost and additional staffing) did not outweigh the benefits. Why does staff think this might be the time to reconsider monthly utility billing? Monthly billing is a standard for all industries, not just private utilities. A monthly schedule offers increased customer service, because it more closely matches how customers earn or receive revenues, and use information is more current when read monthly. If a leak occurs, customers are alerted more quickly. In times of a drought, customers are able to monitor use more closely. It also assists in the management of delinquent accounts. Quite often customers do not remember that they are being billed for two months because it is somewhat unique in their bill- paying practices. These are all the positives of moving to a monthly schedule; the negative side is the increased staff time required to read meters and bill. However, if the City was to move toward AMR, some of this increased staff time and cost could be offset. In 1995, staff studied moving to monthly utility billing and estimated the increased cost at about $150,000 per year, which included increased postage and three additional positions. Updated, the costs are likely more in the range of$200,000 to $250,000. This represents about 1.5%of the water and sewer sales,which will be about$16,466,700 in 2004. There are a number of related considerations. Customer service staffing has not increased for a number of years, (see information in the automated meter reading section above); therefore, it may be necessary to consider additional staff for meter reading, whether the meter reading and billing frequency changes or not. Automated meter reading, electronic bill paying and utility customer information on the internet (described below) may reduce the long term need for additional staff. Recommendation Direct staff to include in the request for proposal a requirement that the consultant evaluate and recommend an appropriate billing frequency for the City of San Luis Obispo, one that is consistent with the recommendations regarding rate structure,billing systems and AMR. Other Customer Service Programs: Web Enhanced Utility Billing The City currently uses ACS (Affiliated Computer Services) to provide its utility billing services. ACS has proposed to expand our billing services with web-enabled functionality and staff is hoping to implement this in the near future. Customers will be able to log on to a secure site with a unique password and view their consumption and transaction information. They will also be able to pay on-line. While this may not be a service all customers wish to take advantage of, at least initially, it does offer an alternative to the current methods of transacting business and obtaining information. Utility Rate Structure and Billing System Review Page 8 An overview of the services is provided in the list below: Web Enabled Services 1. Added convenience a. Enable on-line payments(by credit card or e-check) b. Setup automatic payment by credit card c. Business can be conducted on-line versus in person or over the phone d. Initiate service 2. Immediate access to information 24-hours a day a. Payments taken 24-hours a day b. Payments are reflected on the web site immediately c. E-mail receipt sent to the customer 3. More information a. Consumption history/charts b. Transaction details c. Account information 4. Individual control/security a. Customers sign up to have web access to their accounts b. Utility Billing staff reviews and approves this access It is currently estimated that the upgraded software and hardware to allow web enhanced utility billing will cost about $39,600. Sufficient carryover funding from 2003-04 water and sewer operating savings is available to support this request. Recommendation Support expansion of City's utility billing services with web-enabled functionality. Why is staff' recommending proceeding with this upgrade if we are recommending an evaluation of potential new utility billing software programs? The cost is relatively minor to offer expanded customer service and it moves the utility billing system in the direction of customer expectation. Also, if new utility billing software is recommended through this process, it will likely be a number of years for the recommendations and entire plan to be implemented. FISCAL IMPACT If Council directs staff to prepare a request for proposal for consultant services as recommended in Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4, the estimated fiscal impact to the water and sewer funds is $47,500. This estimate is based on the costs of recent financial studies performed for the City, such as the cost of service and the impact fee financing study. It seems reasonable given the amount of carryover and savings that could be used for this purpose. Staff intends to use carryover and capital project savings to fund this study and the utility billing enhancements as shown below, so no new appropriations would be required. Currently, the water fund has about $54,000 in general carryover and,up to $60,000 in groundwater capital project savings that can be used to support these requests. The sewer fund has about $200,000 in general carryover to support its share of the requested actions. i Utility Rate Structure and Billing System Review Page 9 Web Enhanced Utility Consultant Services for Total Billing Financial Analysis Water Fund General Carryover 23,800 23,800 Cap Proj Savings-Groundwater 23,750 23,750 Sewer Fund General Carryover 15,800 23,750 39,550 Total $39,600 $47,500 87,100