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REGULAR MEETING
<br />JANUARY 23, 2017
<br />the Council. He warned again that a return to compact fees would be worse for the vast majority
<br />of water and sewer customers, inside and outside of City limits.
<br />Councilmember Williams- Preston responded that she appreciated the warning about compact
<br />fees, but that she felt that two (2) bad choices was not a good choice at all, or a choice to begin
<br />with. She stated, So, I am just trying to understand how we can do this, because I certainly
<br />understand that we have had those conversations about how it is important that we move forward
<br />on this, yet I don't want to jump into a place where we are now setting up a whole demographic
<br />of folks to be basically put in a situation where they don't have access to the information. How
<br />are we going to get the information out to people that they might have the ability to go through
<br />this process...?
<br />Mr. Schmidt responded, If there are concerns, I think those concerns may be addressed by
<br />including in our material that goes out to our users a part that points out Section 17 -29 to them.
<br />He stated that, to some extent, it is up to the customer to reach out to Public Works and express
<br />concern for the Section 17 -29 issue. He stated, We cannot hold everyone's hands, but we are
<br />there to answer and help people along the way, should there be concerns and questions, to the
<br />best of our ability. We want to be as fair as we possibly can, but we need some guidance, and we
<br />feel like we are moving in that direction as to how we can handle things for users inside and
<br />outside of the City.
<br />Councilmember Williams- Preston asked if Eric Horvath could clarify the issue further, stating,
<br />You're right, we can't hold hands for people, but we are here to be servants and make sure things
<br />are fair and that people know what they need to do.
<br />Eric Horvath, Director of the Department of Public Works, with offices on the 13'h Floor of the
<br />County -City Building, stated that he understood where Councilmember Williams- Preston was
<br />coming from. He stated that shortly after the ordinance was set in 2005, the Council decided that
<br />they wanted some control over the special rate agreements and then enacted what has been
<br />referred to as "17 -29" and set the language so that there had to be a clearly definable reduction in
<br />cost to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. He stated, Since 2006, we have not had many requests
<br />for special rates that have come in beyond that initial contract. The burden of truth will be on
<br />them, as per the ordinance.
<br />Councilmember Williams- Preston asked, You said it has to be a significant savings to the City?
<br />Mr. Horvath responded, A clearly definable reduction in cost.
<br />Councilmember Williams- Preston stated, So, basically the big users are basically are the ones
<br />that are going to...
<br />Mr. Horvath interjected, No, it is not a significant but a clearly definable reduction in cost.
<br />Councilmember Williams- Preston stated that it seemed that some of these individual households
<br />might be in the same situation as the big companies. She asked if either these households or big
<br />companies could be awarded the special exception if they could show a clearly definable
<br />reduction in cost.
<br />Mr. Horvath responded, Everyone has the exact same burden in the ordinance, and that is to
<br />show in writing a clearly definable reduction in cost.
<br />Councilmember Williams- Preston asked, If we do not pass this, we will have to go back to the
<br />compact fees? Or we don't have any time...
<br />Mr. Horvath responded that we have a twenty percent (20 %) surcharge on water and zero percent
<br />(0 %) on the sewer rate. He stated, However, there were also assessments that were, in the
<br />overwhelming majority, much more expensive than the new way of calculating equity charges,
<br />which is through SCC's, which everyone pays inside or outside of the City. He stated, In the
<br />prior ordinance, there is not only the assessments —which are more expensive —but there is also
<br />a ten percent (10 %) surcharge on sewer and twenty percent (20 %) on water, with no residential
<br />caps, which is different than inside the City. So, that stuff went away with the ordinance, as
<br />well —and most importantly, probably —as the compact fees. So, if you were on sewer or
<br />water —one utility —it's thirty percent (30 %): the difference between taxes you pay inside of the
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