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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 2016-004 Rescind Utility Rates CITY OF ARLINGTON ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON RESCINDING CERTAIN INCREASES TO CITY UTILITY RATES AND CHARGES WHEREAS, the City of Arlington, Washington has the authority to enact laws to promote the health, safety and welfare of its citizens; and WHEREAS, the City of Arlington continues to examine equitable rates for water, sewer and stormwater service; and WHEREAS, the City's utility rates contain a CPI adjustment factor which the City Council wishes to rescind for 2016; and WHEREAS, the City wishes to rescind the planned utility rate increases for 2016; NOW, THEREFORE, be it ordained by the City Council of the City of Arlington as follows: Section 1. The two prefatory subparagraphs of Arlington Municipal Code section 13.12.040 shall be and hereby are amended to read as follows: 13.12.040 Water rates and charges. State and city utility taxes are included in the following rates and charges for water service. The water charges shall include a base charge by meter size, and a consumption rate, as set forth below. Beginning on January 15, 2011, the rates set forth for the year 2010 shall be increased annually by the October reported percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area for All Urban Consumers, or other measure commonly used by the city should it change; provided, however, that no CPI adjustment shall be made for the period from January 15, 2012 to January 14, 2017; and provided further, however, that notwithstanding any reduction in the CPI, rates shall not decrease. Section 2. Arlington Municipal Code section 13.12.040(4)(B) shall be and hereby is amended to read as follows: (B) The usage rates set forth for temporary water service shall be increased annually by the October reported percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area for All Urban Consumers, or other measure commonly used by the city should it change; provided, however, that no CPI adjustment shall be made for the period from January 15, 2012 to January 14, 2017, and provided further, however, that notwithstanding any reduction in the CPI, rates shall not decrease. ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 1 Section 3. Arlington Municipal Code section 13.12.130 shall be and hereby is amended to read as follows: 13,12.130 - Residential and other sewer rates and charges. State and city utility taxes are included in the following rates and charges for sewer service. The effective dates for the following four-year plan will be based on the city's billing cycle for use beginning on June 1, 2010, and January 15th of each year thereafter: Monthly 2010 RATE 2011 RATE 2012 RATE 2013 RATE 2014-2016 charge RATE (sewer) Base rate per $57.45 $ 62.80 $ 68.15 $ 70.15 $70.15 residential unit Beginning on January 15, 2017, the rates set forth for the year 2016 shall be increased annually by the October reported percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area for All Urban Consumers, or other measure commonly used by the city should it change; provided, however, that notwithstanding any reduction in the CPI, rates shall not decrease. Section 4. Arlington Municipal Code section 13.12.140(a) and (b) shall be and hereby are amended to read as follows: 13.12.140 Commercial classification and sewer rates and charges. a. All sanitary sewerage users consisting of any public or private premises not classified under Section 13.12.110 or classified as an industrial user under Section 13.12.150 shall be classified as commercial and charged upon the basis of water consumption. State and city utility taxes are included in the following rates and charges for sewer service. The effective dates for the following five-year plan will be based on the city's billing cycle for use beginning on June 1, 2010 and January 15th of each year thereafter. Each user shall pay a minimum monthly charge of one base rate plus a volume rate for all consumption over three hundred cubic feet per month. ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 2 Monthly 2010 RATE 2011 RATE 2012 RATE 2013 RATE 2014-2016 charge RATE (sewer) Base rate $57.45 $62.80 $68.15 $70.15 $70.15 (includes 300 cubic feet per month Volume rate $5.95 $6.50 $7.05 $7.25 $7.25 (per 100 cubic feet per month) b. Beginning on January 15, 2017, and on January 15th each year thereafter the rates set forth for the year 2016 shall be increased annually by the October reported percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area for All Urban Consumers, or other measure commonly used by the city should it change, provided, however, that notwithstanding any reduction in the CPI, rates shall not decrease. Section 5. Arlington Municipal Code section 13.12.150 shall be and hereby is amended to read as follows: 13.12,150 - Industrial user classification and charges. The rates and charges for industrial users, as defined in Sections 13.08.240, 13.08.250, and 13.36 of this code, shall be as follows: (1) All user charges shall be based upon equitable unit charges established for flow BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) loading and TSS (total suspended solids) loading, based upon the average BOD, TSS and other parameter(s) concentrations (as established by the public works director) monitored for the industrial user and the flow recorded in the monitoring manhole or water use. (2) A minimum monthly charge will be established by the city to cover the basic sewer costs and monitoring of the industrial user's wastewater discharge, and in the event the monthly sewer bill does not exceed this amount the industrial user shall agree to pay the estimated minimum monthly charge. This charge shall be reviewed from time to time and adjusted to ensure the charge is covering the monitoring services and sewer costs provided and must be reviewed every two years. Initially, the monthly charges shall be based on the following, unless otherwise established in the negotiated discharge permit: ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 3 (A) For an industrial user with waste strength less than two hundred fifty mg/l, measured as five-day BOD and TSS, and other parameters within limits established in Sections 13.08.240, 13.08.250, 13.36 of this title, and whose discharge does not require regular monitoring other than flow, the minimum monthly charge is as set forth below: Sewer 2010 RATE 2011 RATE 2012 RATE 2013 RATE 2014-2016 Charges RATE (monthly) Waste $352.00 $384.00 $417.00 $429.00 $429.00 strength <250 mg/1 (B) For an industrial user with waste strength in excess of two hundred fifty mg/1 for two months or more per year, the minimum monthly charge is as set forth below: Sewer 2010 RATE 2011 RATE 2012 RATE 2013 RATE 2014-2016 Charges RATE (monthly) Waste $1,406.00 $1,536.00 $1,666.00 $1,715.00 $1,715.00 strength >250 mg/1 (C) Beginning January 15, 2017, and each January 15th thereafter, the charges set forth in Subsections (1) (A) and (1) (B) of this section, shall be increased annually, by the October reported percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area for All Urban Consumers, or other measure commonly used by the city should it change; provided, however, that notwithstanding any reduction in the CPI, rates shall not decrease. (3) Until such time as a sewer user charge analysis can be conducted to establish equitable charges under a negotiated discharge permit between the city and the industrial user, the following shall be used as the basis for industrial user charges: (A) Flow based charge per cubic foot of wastewater discharged; (B) BOD charge per pound of BOD discharged; and (C) TSS charge per pound of TSS discharged, pursuant to the following table: ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 4 Sewer charge 2010 RATE 2011 RATE 2012 RATE 2013 RATE 2014-2016 (monthly) RATE Flow-based $0.01681 $0.01837 $0.01993 $0.02051 $0.02051 charge (per cubic foot) _ BOD charge $0.529 $0.578 $0.627 $0.645 $0.645 (per pound BOD) TSS charge $0.354 $0.386 $0.419 $0.431 $0.431 (per pound TSS (D) Beginning January 15, 2017, and each January 15th thereafter, the charges set forth in subsections (c) of this section, shall be increased annually, by the October reported percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle- Tacoma-Bremerton area for All Urban Consumers, or other measure commonly used by the city should it change; provided, however, that notwithstanding any reduction in the CPI, rates shall not decrease. (4) Flow shall be based upon one hundred percent of the water consumption or rate of flow of wastewater discharge into the sewer (measured in an industrial user installed flow measurement and recording equipment installed in control manhole, pursuant to Chapter 13.36 of the Arlington Municipal Code). Strength of wastewater discharged shall be established based upon twenty-four-hour composite samples made by the city at the control manhole and tested by the city's wastewater treatment plant laboratory or state certified testing laboratory. All testing shall be in accordance with the latest edition of"Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater," APHA, AWWA and WPCF. BOD and TSS, pounds per day, shall be calculated based upon concentration of composite samples and established flow rates. (5) Appeal. (A) If any user believes that a portion of the user's metered flow, larger than ten percent, is not discharged into the sewer system (when flow measurement is not provided in the control manhole), the user should make written application to the public works director for review of the user's flow of wastewater. If the public works director agrees that charges for the user should be adjusted, they shall so notify the city council, which may approve such change, or direct a recomputation of the user's sewer rates. (B) If the public works director does not agree to the adjustment of user charges, the user may further appeal to the city council, which may direct further study or take other appropriate action. ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 5 Section 6. Arlington Municipal Code section 13.12.540 shall be and hereby is amended to read as follows: 13.12.540 - Initial service charge rates. In accordance with the rate structure established herein, there is hereby levied upon all developed real property within the boundaries of the utility, the following service charges: (1) State and city utility taxes are included in the following rates and charges for stormwater service. See Table 3. (2) Beginning on January 15, 2017, the rates set forth for the year 2016 shall be increased annually by the October reported percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton area for All Urban Consumers, or other measure commonly used by the city should it change; provided, however, that no annual increase shall exceed two percent; and provided further, that notwithstanding any reduction in the CPI, rates shall not decrease. Stormwater 2011 RATE 2012 RATE 2013 RATE 2014-2016 charges RATE (monthly) Base rate per 4.75 5.82 $6.89 $6.89 ESU (3) For all other developed property including multifamily, condominiums and mobile home parks within the boundaries of the utility, except as specified under Section 13.28.130, the monthly service charge shall be based on the above table (Table 3) per month multiplied by the number of equivalent service units determined by the utility to be contained in such parcel. For all single-family property owners qualifying for the senior low-income utility discount established in Section 13.12.140, the discount shall apply to stormwater service charges. Section 7. Severability. Should any section, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance, or its application to any person or circumstance, be declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid for any reason, or should any portion of this ordinance be preempted by state or federal law or regulation, such decision or preemption shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to other persons or circumstances. Section 8. Effective Date. The title of this ordinance, which summarizes the contents of this ordinance, shall be published in the official newspaper of the City. The ordinance shall take effect and be in full force five (5) days after the date of publication, provided, however, that the amended rates shall be effective on January 15, 2016. ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 6 JkL PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL AT A REGULAR MEETING THEREOF ON THE DAY OF � , 2016 CITY OF ARLINGTON By J,d L�'c/l 7L Barbara Tolbert, Mayor Attest: Kristi Banfield, City Clerk Approved as to form: Stev �. P if y ttorney ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 7 CERTIFICATION OF ORDINANCE 1, Kristin Banfield, being the duly appointed and acting Clerk of the City of Arlington, Washington, a municipal corporation, do hereby certify that the following Ordinance No. 2016- 004 was approved at the February 16, 2016 City Council meeting. ORDINANCE NO. 2016-004 "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON RESCINDING CERTAIN INCREASES TO CITY UTILITY RATES AND CHARGES" A true and correct copy of the original ordinance is attached. Dated this 17t" day of February, 2016. Kristi Banfield City Clerk for the City of Arlington SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE ADOPTION You are hereby notified that on February 16, 2016, the City Council of the City of Arlington, Washington, did adopt Ordinance No. 2016-004 entitled, "AN ORDINANCE-OF THE-CITY-OF ARLINGTON, WASHINGTON RESCINDING CERTAIN INCREASES TO CITY UTILITY RATES AND CHARGES" This ordinance is effective five days from passage and publication, except as otherwise specified in the ordinance. The full text of the ordinance is available to interested persons and will be mailed upon request. Kristin Banfield City Clerk City of Arlington