Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Rates topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
SFPUC adopts amended water and wastewater rate resolutions, adds revised residential capacity tiers
Summary
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on June 7 approved amended water and wastewater rate resolutions, including small textual corrections and a revised five-tier residential capacity charge structure; the commission said it will advocate to the Board of Supervisors on any pass-through provisions.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission on June 7 approved amended resolutions setting water and wastewater enterprise rates, fees and charges, adopting small wording changes and a new structure for residential capacity charges.
Assistant General Manager Scott McDonald told the commission staff had inserted clarifying language—changing a clause to read that "the SFPUC will advocate for passage at the Board of Supervisors"—and corrected a date and other clean-up items. McDonald said the main policy change is a restructuring of residential capacity-charge groupings to a larger set of tiers based on square-foot groupings suggested by stakeholders, and that wastewater and water structures were made consistent.
A representative of the West Twin Peaks Central Council, Denise LaPointe, urged the commission to reconsider tiered rates and to involve the rate-fairness board, asking that single-family service remain a uniform rate tied to the actual cost of delivery. LaPointe read a letter submitted by neighborhood groups that also recommended creating a ratepayer-advocate office to review cost calculations.
Chair Brooks moved adoption of the amended resolutions and Commissioner Kane seconded; the commission voted to adopt the measures as presented. Commissioners emphasized that the SFPUC itself does not have authority to implement pass-throughs and that advocacy to the Board of Supervisors will be required for legislative actions related to pass-through charges.
The commission and staff said the new capacity-charge tiers reflect stakeholder input and consistency between water and wastewater policies, but they did not adopt the rate-fairness board's separate review as a formal condition of adoption. Staff said additional technical details and the final resolution text will be part of the record and forwarded to the Board of Supervisors as required.
The commission closed items 9 and 10 and moved on to other agenda items.
