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Council debates proposal to revert 'readiness to serve' fee; staff outlines 2026 impact
Summary
City staff proposed changing the utility ordinance to assess a base water/wastewater charge only to customers with active service starting Jan. 1, 2026; staff said the move restores a prior base charge and offsets revenue lost from inactive-account billing, while some council members objected to shifting costs to active customers.
City staff presented a proposed ordinance amendment that would change the utility "readiness to serve" charge to a base fee assessed only to active water and wastewater accounts, a change staff says would take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
"This ordinance in front of you proposes amending the readiness to serve charge that is in the current utility rate ordinance to revert that back to a base charge as it was prior to 01/01/2024," Sylvia Davis, director of utilities, told the council. She said the proposal aims to remove charges from customers who do not have active water service while offsetting that lost revenue by slightly increasing base charges for active customers.
Davis walked the council through numeric examples from staff materials: under the existing ordinance the 2026 readiness-to-serve charge was set to increase to $18.22 for water, $14.43 for wastewater and $7.34 for stormwater (a model average bill of $39.99). Under the proposed language staff showed an example where active customers would see base charges of $19.12 for water, $15.21 for wastewater and the same stormwater charge of $7.34 (an example bill of about $41.67 before usage charges).
Several council members objected to shifting those dollars to active customers. "I am not gonna vote for something that increases the active base... I just can't do that," Councilman Spencer Duncan said, arguing the readiness-to-serve charge had been intended to incentivize owners of vacant or idle properties to develop them. Other members asked staff to present multiple options, including cost reductions and alternative spread scenarios, before the ordinance is finalized.
Davis and staff told the council they could return with additional options; staff emphasized the magnitude of revenue involved and the short timeline if a change is to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026.
No formal action was taken; the discussion will continue and staff said it would present additional options to the Public Infrastructure Committee and the full council ahead of the 2026 rate effective date.
