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G-08-12-18-12A1 - 12/18/2008TWO BLOCK RATE ORDINANCE NO. Ct -(b- /2.. (g- I Z.4 l AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 10, SECTION 10.201, CODE OF ORDINANCES (1995 EDITION), CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS, AMENDING WATER RATES; PROVIDING FOR A SAVINGS CLAUSE AND REPEALING CONFLICTING ORDINANCES OR RESOLUTIONS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROUND ROCK, TEXAS: I. That Chapter 10, Section 10.201(6), Code of Ordinances (1995 Edition), City of Round Rock is hereby amended to read as follows: (6) Water Rates for Retail Customers (a) Definitions (i) "Non -Peak Billing Periods" means all billing periods other than Peak Billing Periods. (ii) "Peak Billing Periods" means five consecutive billing periods between May 1 and October 31, as determined each year by the Director of Finance. (iii) "Rate Block" means the two water volume blocks as described in (d) below. (b) Volume Rates for Non -Peak Billing Periods For water consumed during Non -Peak Billing Periods, each Customer shall pay a rate of $2.24 per 1,000 gallons or fraction thereof consumed during such billing period. (c) Volume Rates for Peak Billing Periods For water consumed during Peak Billing Periods, each Customer shall pay a rate for water consumed during such billing period within each Rate Block described in (d) below, as follows: Rate Blocks Charge per 1,000 Gallons Rate Block One Rate Block Two 0:\WDOX\ORDINANC\08120401.DOC/s1s The volume rate set forth in (b) above 125 % of Rate Block One, rounded to the nearest penny (d) Rate Blocks by Meter Size (i) Rate Block One by meter size is as follows: Meter Size in inches Volume by Gallons 5/8 0 to 18,000 3/4 0 to 27,000 1.0 0 to 45,000 1.5 0 to 90,000 2.0 0 to 144,000 3.0 0 to 288,000 4.0 0 to 450,000 6.0 0 to 900.000 8.0 0 to 1,440,000 10.0 0 to 2,070,000 12.0 0 to 2,070,000 (ii) Rate Block Two by meter size is as follows: Meter Size in inches Volume by Gallons 5/8 More than 18,000 3/4 More than 27,000 1.0 More than 45,000 1.5 More than 90,000 2.0 More than 144,000 3.0 More than 288,000 4.0 More than 450,000 6.0 More than 900.000 8.0 More than 1,440,000 10.0 More than 2,070,000 12.0 More than 2,070,000 (e) Monthly Service Charge Except as provided below, in addition to the above volume rates, each Customer shall pay a monthly water service charge pursuant to the following schedule regardless of the amount of water used. Meter Size 5/8 inch 3/4 inch 1 inch 1' inch 2 inch 3 inch 4 inch 6 inch 8 inch 10 inch 12 inch Monthly Service Charge Effective January 1, 2009 $13.18 18.36 29.00 55.56 87.44 161.83 268.10 835.86 1,460.98 2,294.47 2,815.40 (i) Medicaid Exemption Discontinued after October 1, 2005. Except as provided in (ii) below, on and after October 1, 2005 the monthly water service charge exemption for head of household residents eligible for Medicaid benefits will be discontinued. (ii) Exemption for Current Recipients. For residential service located within the corporate City limits where the head of the household is eligible for Medicaid benefits, and if said resident head of household was receiving the Medicaid exemption from the monthly water service charge prior to October 1, 2005, and if said resident head of household re -applies for said exemption between October 1 and October 30 of each year, then the exemption from paying the monthly water service charge shall continue until the head of the household is no longer eligible for Medicaid benefits, as determined by federal guidelines and as administered by the State of Texas. (iii) Unlawful acceptance of exemption or discount. It shall be unlawful for any Person to apply for and/or receive a water rate discount or exemption from the monthly water service charge if such Person is not eligible to receive said discount or exemption. (0 Adjustment of Meter Size due to Fire Flows In the event a Customer has a meter that is oversized because of fire flow requirements, for billing purposes, the City may calculate the bill for the size of meter that would be necessary without the addition of said fire flow requirements. (g) Outside City Limits The above water rates and service charges apply to all Customers located within the corporate limits of the City. All Customers located outside of the corporate limits of the City shall pay double the applicable rates charged Customers within the corporate limits of the City, unless a different rate is approved by the Council pursuant to a contractual agreement. (h) Age 65 and Older (i) Discounts Discontinued after June 10, 1993. Except as provided below, on and after June 10, 1993 the water rate discount for head of household residents 65 years of age and older will be discontinued. All head of household residents 65 years of age and older actually receiving said discounts prior to June 10, 1993 shall continue to receive said discounts as stated in this section, so long as they re -apply for said discounts before October 30 of each year. (ii) Discounts for Current Recipients. For residential service located within the corporate city limits where the head of the household has attained the age of sixty-five (65), and if said resident head of household was receiving water rate discounts prior to June 10, 1993, and if said resident head of household re- applies for said discounts between October 1 and October 30 of each year, then the following schedule of monthly rates or charges for services furnished by the city's water system shall be and such is hereby adopted and established as follows: 2009. Rate Number of Gallons of Water Used 1 - 20,000 gallons 20,000 gallons to 75,000 gallons Use exceeding 75,000 gallons Monthly Water Rates $1.20 per 1,000 gallons $1.45 per 1,000 gallons used exceeding 20,000 gallons up to 75,000 gallons $1.70 per 1,000 used exceeding 75,000 gallons Monthly Charge Except as provided below, in addition to the foregoing rates, each Customer shall also pay a monthly water service charge of $5.50 regardless of the amount of water used. II. This ordinance shall have an effective date of January 1, A. conflict herewith are expressly repealed. B. The invalidity of any section or provision of this ordinance shall not invalidate other sections or provisions thereof. C. The City Council hereby finds and declares that written notice of the date, hour, place and subject of the meeting at which this Ordinance was adopted was posted and that such meeting was open to the public as required by law at all times during which this Ordinance and the subject matter hereof were discussed, considered and formally acted upon, all as required by the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, as amended. All ordinances, parts of ordinances, or resolutions in 4 READ and APPROVED on first reading this the day of , 2008. I READ, APPROVED and ADOPTED on second reading this the day of bAte.t. V1i(��_ , 2008. ATTEST: frLQ% X SARA L. WHITE, City Secretary ALAN MCGRAW, Mayor City of Round Rock, Texas 5 DATE: December 11, 2008 SUBJECT: City Council Meeting — December 18, 2008 ITEM: 12A1. Consider an ordinance amending water rates to promote the conservation of water. (Second Reading) Department: Staff Person: Justification: Water and Wastewater Utilities Michael Thane, Director of Utilities Water conservation is important to our region as we must protect this precious natural resource. The demand for water will continue to increase as our City grows to its ultimate population. Planning for the City's ultimate water system includes approximately 10 million gallons of water per day (MGD) from conservation and reuse programs.. To reach this goal, efforts must be implemented by the City to promote conservation efforts by customers. The new rates, which are based on an inclined -block structure, promote conservation in that the more water you use, the higher the rate you will pay. The inclined -block rate structure will impact residential, commercial, government, multi -family, and industrial customers during the peak water billing months of June through October. The non -peak months, November through May, will be billed based on the current base water rate. The water usage rate for each block is determined by the meter size for each customer. Funding: Cost: N/A Source of funds: N/A Outside Resources: None Background Information: Beginning January 1, 2009, the City's water rate for all users is $2.24 per 1,000 gallons of use. The purpose of Conservation Water Rates is to encourage conservation by having lower water rates for customers in the lower usage block. If additional revenue is generated from conservation rates, the revenue will fund a citywide water conservation program to promote public education and awareness, and potentially fund future capital improvements as well as offsetting future water rate increases. Public Comment: Several presentations regarding water conservation have been made to the City Council over the past several months.