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Councilmember Broden asked if that same tactic is going to be used for sidewalks. <br />Mr. Horvath responded there is an inventory on the sidewalks but the issue is that it is still a <br />home owner responsibility. We do have a couple different programs such as Safe Routes which <br />we talked about already. There is the Council allocation and we have left it up to the Council to <br />determine the areas they feel are in most need. We will help with that to make sure we are <br />addressing sidewalks that are in poor or very poor condition but beyond that it is up to the <br />councilmembers to determine for their districts. Also there is the cost share program that anyone <br />can participate in. The resident receives $20 for every foot of sidewalk and $15 for every foot of <br />curb replaced that we reimburse to the homeowner. They also get $950 for every ADA ramp <br />they put in. <br />Councilmember Dr. Varner stated that as we look at increasing the water rate we have a <br />dilemma. If you have increased rates and people react by conserving, which is not unheard of, <br />you will get a decreased use. If you get decreased use then we get decreased revenue. He asked if <br />individual conservation has been factored into rate studies. <br />Mr. Horvath responded it usually is not. To offset that though we are seeing some growth and a <br />lot more interest in development happening. We will have some new customers which may <br />offset some of that. <br />Councilmember Dr. Varner stated the example he is thinking of is the ethanol plant where they <br />went from around $1.3 million in revenue to the City to around $400,000 due to conservation <br />and updated technology. The big users are going to do that sort of thing. <br />Councilmember Williams Preston asked if it was possible to get a report of where in the City <br />residents are getting their water shut off. She stated she has had residents report that they get <br />their water shut off for more than a month but they can't get it turned on because they are getting <br />billed for water shut off at the street and the bills continue to rise. Why do people continue to get <br />billed if they are not getting water service? <br />Mr. Horvath responded that we have a three (3) week time frame. About ninety percent (90 %) of <br />people have their water restored in twenty -four (24) hours after being cut off. We leave the <br />account in active status for three (3) weeks to give the person the opportunity to repay and then <br />the account is finalized and not billed anymore. If people are concerned that they were billed <br />when they didn't have service they can call the Water Works and ask to speak to someone. We <br />don't want to prohibit people from getting their water turned back on but sometimes things like <br />trash are still active that needs to be paid before the water is turned on. We should have good <br />answers for those individuals. <br />Committee Chair White thanked Mr. Horvath and the members of the Department of Public <br />Works who came as well. <br />Department of Community Investment <br />10 <br />