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Oakley council weighs flat fee and rate-class options after cemetery district raises high-water bills
Summary
After the South Summit Cemetery District raised concerns about sharply different water-meter readings across three cemeteries, council members discussed legal constraints and options including a proposed flat $3,000 annual charge and creating a public-facilities rate classification; staff were directed to work with legal on formal recommendations.
Council members discussed repeated complaints from the South Summit Cemetery District about large water bills at three cemeteries within Oakley city limits and reviewed an incomplete chain of title for a triangular parcel at the city entrance now held by the district.
Staff reported gaps in historical documentation of any exchange or agreement tied to the parcel and said records show a multi-party transaction in 2008 involving the Walkers and the city before the city later sold the parcel to the cemetery district. Jack Clegg of the cemetery district (identified in the record) said he believes a prior arrangement existed but that no written agreement could be found.
City staff presented meter readings that showed major variance between sites; one meter showed usage “upwards of a 100,000 gallons each month” for one of the cemeteries. Council and legal counsel discussed options for addressing the district’s billing concerns, including offering water at a wholesale rate, creating a new public-facilities classification in the fee schedule, or negotiating a separate agreement.
Legal counsel noted that wholesale providers typically sell to cities and districts and that the cemetery, as an end user, would normally be treated as retail. Counsel cautioned that fee schedules must be grounded in reasonable cost bases and that treating one public entity differently could risk equal-protection or statutory issues without proper classification and documentation.
The council tentatively agreed to direct staff to explore a flat fee arrangement of $3,000 a year (about $250 a month) for the cemetery district, subject to legal review and possible triggers to re-evaluate usage. Mayor said the city could memorialize any agreed arrangement and asked staff, including Amy and legal counsel, to return with recommended language and any necessary fee-schedule changes.
“Typically, when you do a rate study … you have to treat everybody kind of the same,” counsel said. He added that verbal promises are difficult to enforce and recommended negotiating a documented solution rather than relying on undiscovered historical agreements.
The council did not adopt a formal ordinance or fee at the meeting. Staff will return with legal guidance and a proposed method—either a rate-class change or a separate agreement—that would formalize the cemetery district’s billing arrangement.
