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Council approves fee schedule including water rate changes; base allocation lowered from 10,000 to 7,000 gallons
Summary
Council adopted Resolution No. 25‑006 updating the city's fee schedule effective Feb. 1; changes include a lower base gallon allocation for water billing and revised event and right‑of‑way security deposit fees.
City staff presented an annual update to the city fee schedule and the council considered a package of changes proposed by department managers. Staff said the proposed fee schedule is slated to be effective Feb. 1 and that updates were recommended by multiple departments, including changes related to the water master plan, community development (short‑term rental and housekeeping ordinance changes), Lewis and Clark Festival Park user fees and right‑of‑way occupancy fees for franchise negotiations.
A material change discussed at length was the water rate design: staff recommended lowering the base usage threshold from 10,000 gallons to 7,000 gallons per month for the base rate in order to align with water resource planning and grant eligibility. Staff explained billing occurs in arrears and that customers would likely see the change reflected on March bills. Council and staff discussed communication plans to notify ratepayers in advance.
Public commenter Roger Nichols provided a worked example on the radio and in the meeting showing the combined effect of the base threshold change and per‑gallon rate adjustment: he calculated that a household using 10,000 gallons would see a net increase of about $4 per month (an approximate 10% rise) under the new structure; staff confirmed the city has not increased rates in many years and said outreach would accompany the change.
Council also reviewed a new $1,000 security deposit for non‑permitted use of public rights‑of‑way to ensure parties negotiating franchise or right‑of‑way agreements have an initial administrative contribution; staff said the deposit would be refundable or applied to the first franchise payment if an agreement is reached. The Lewis and Clark Festival Park multiple‑day fee was changed from a flat $500 to a $300 per‑day charge to cover increased staff preparation and cleanup time for multi‑day events.
Councilor Richardson moved adoption of Resolution No. 25‑006; Councilor Ring seconded and the resolution passed. Staff said they will notify the public and prepare explanatory materials illustrating how the new water billing will work.
Ending: The council adopted the fee schedule amendment; staff will coordinate public outreach and implement the new rates and fees on Feb. 1 (billing impact expected on March statements).
