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Council hears concerns about inconsistent fee schedules, utility meter pricing and contract grandfathering
Summary
Councilors and staff discussed multiple versions of the city's fee schedule, rising water-meter and hookup costs, and the need to reconcile circulating documents; a resident said a swim-team contract used one schedule and that staff should honor that agreement.
Sunnyside City Council at a study session reviewed discrepancies among several versions of the municipal fee schedule and heard from staff and a resident about rising utility connection costs and a contract dispute over pool rental rates.
Deputy Mayor Galvan said three different fee-schedule versions exist (May 28, 2024; Dec. 9, 2024; and June 9, 2025), and that some fees revert between versions. "There is some fees that jump back and forth," Galvan said. Staff acknowledged the inconsistency and told council they will consolidate and present a single authoritative schedule for council approval.
Public Works staff and the deputy director, Hector Mejia, told council the city is selling some meters for less than the procurement cost. Mejia gave examples: the city charges $546 for a 1.5-inch meter but purchases that size for between $1,100 and $2,400; a 6-inch meter fee listed at $2,700 can cost the city $5,200 to $7,500 to buy. Councilors and staff discussed using an equivalent residential unit (ERU) calculation for multifamily connections and noted that equity or system buy-in fees are collected to offset historical system costs.
Councilors expressed concern that charging less than the city's actual cost effectively "gifts" public funds. The city manager summarized the point: because the meter cost is not fully recouped at sale and the city relies on ongoing utility revenue for maintenance, selling meters below cost can shift burden to current ratepayers.
Resident Janet DeGeary told council she alerted staff in May that multiple fee schedules were circulating and said the version on the city website does not match the schedule the council recently approved. "That was the old schedule you were presented. That was not your December schedule," DeGeary said. She also said the city had signed a March contract with the swim team promising a Class B rate for an invitational; that rate does not appear in the newer fee schedule and she asked the city to honor the signed contract. Staff said they will respect signed contracts and will correct the public record.
Council directed staff to: reconcile and publish a single, final fee schedule; present an itemized breakdown of meter and hookup costs so applicants understand line-item pricing; and honor existing signed contracts by grandfathering them where appropriate. Staff said they will use the budget process to review fees annually and update meter costs based on supplier quotes.
No ordinance or fee resolution was adopted at the study session; staff were tasked with reconciling the multiple schedules and returning a single, proofread fee schedule for council action.
