Milwaukie plans water-rate redesign, expands utility-assistance outreach and staffing

Milwaukie city staff told the council at a June 16 work session that the city will implement a redesigned water-rate structure intended to reduce the cost burden for essential household water use and expand outreach for its utility-assistance program.

The city manager explained the quarters affordability update and said staffs proposed water-rate design lowers the cost of an essential household allocation (presented in materials as about 3 CCF) and will charge qualifying utility-assistance customers the lowest tier for all consumption. "If theyre eligible, all of their consumption is charged the lowest tier," a staff member said during the presentation.

Why it matters: staff said the change is aimed at protecting low-income households from higher bills while preserving revenue to operate the system. The city will include a two-page flyer with the July billing and post a central online "one-stop" resource explaining whats changing, how to apply for assistance and what fees (public-safety, SSIP) on bills mean.

Staff reported activity and enrollment numbers for the assistance program. Michael, a utility staff member, said the program had 137 enrolled customers, 29 new applicants who would raise enrollment to 166 starting July 1, and 59 customers who had not completed renewals. Michael said staff were proactively contacting customers and holding partnership open houses with PGE and Northwest Natural to help people sign up and understand eligibility.

Council members asked whether higher enrollment reflected rising need or successful outreach; staff said both trends appeared to be factors and noted month-to-month fluctuations in shutoff-related notices and door-hanger distributions. "Were definitely getting the word out, and we also see the needs of people are going up," Michael said.

Next steps and staffing: staff previewed a July pilot messaging plan, a brief insert for the July 31 billing cycle and a July 21 consultant presentation on the community survey. The budget committee will review affordability thresholds at an August 10 meeting; staff proposed combining that committee meeting with an August 11 study session to streamline council review. The city also plans to post a job in July to hire a second utility-billing staffer to support account audits, validation and customer service.

The council did not take a formal vote on rates at the work session; staff asked the body to consider adopting an updated annual fee schedule at an upcoming meeting and said they will return with proposed code changes on July 14 to improve billing efficiency.