Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Impact Fees topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Power board recommends 2024 impact fee plan, proposes modest fee increases
Summary
The Washington City Power Board voted to recommend the 2024 Impact Fee Facilities Plan and a UFS impact fee study to the City Council; proposed increases include roughly 9% for residential and 20% for larger commercial services, with a workshop set for Jan. 22 and a likely public hearing in February.
The Washington City Power Board voted to recommend that the City Council approve the 2024 Impact Fee Facilities Plan and the UFS impact fee study, moving the matter to a city work session on Jan. 22 and toward a likely public hearing in February.
The recommendation would raise residential and several small-service impact fees by about 9% and increase larger commercial rates by roughly 20%, according to the UFS study presented to the board. The plan and study were developed from the capital projects list in the April 2024 Capital Facilities Plan and isolate the projects that are attributable to new growth.
Rick (staff member) told the board the Impact Fee Facilities Plan is required by state law and explained the study methodology. He said the consultant used a 100-amp residential service as the unit of comparison and scaled other service sizes from that basis. "Impact fees can only be used on new growth related items," Rick said, emphasizing that the fees do not fund routine maintenance.
Rick summarized why the recommended increases were modest: some parts of the system are approaching build-out, existing capacity in places reduces near-term capital needs, and the consultant credited anticipated customer contributions to early rate base recovery. The consultant also flagged changes in average kilowatt demand among larger commercial customers between 2020 and 2024, which contributed to the larger percentage change for commercial fees.
Board members responded that they were relieved the recommended increases were not larger. "I was quite happy to see it," said Board member Mike, who added that he expected larger jumps given recent construction cost increases. Another board member said the city remains competitive with neighboring utilities even after the increases.
The board voted to forward the plan and study to the City Council for consideration in a Jan. 22 work session; staff said a public hearing would likely follow at the council's second February meeting and that any adopted fees would take effect roughly 90 days after adoption (aiming for June–July). The board motion to recommend the plan passed by recorded ayes.
The study materials include a more detailed table of calculations (table 5 in the study packet) showing how average kilowatt usage per customer and projected costs produced the proposed fee amounts. Staff also provided a comparison of current Washington City fees to those of nearby jurisdictions (St. George, Santa Clara, Hurricane, Dixie), and said Washington City remains generally competitive.
The next steps are: the consultant (UFS) will present the study at the Jan. 22 City Council work session (via Zoom), a council public hearing is expected in February, and — if adopted — impact fees would be scheduled to go into effect about 90 days later. The board did not adopt the fees itself; its action was a recommendation for council consideration.
