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Oxford board adopts written utilities construction policy to shift development costs to applicants
Summary
City staff proposed and the board adopted a written Oxford Utilities electric division construction policy that updates fees not revised since 2005 and requires developers to pay full material, labor and equipment costs for service extensions.
Rob, a utilities staff member, presented a proposed written construction policy and fee schedule for Oxford Utilities’ electric division, saying the city’s fees had not been updated since 2005 and that equipment and labor costs have risen sharply. "Coming out of COVID alone, transformers increased 10x in price," Rob told the board, arguing that codifying the policy and fees will make expectations clear for developers.
Under the proposal, applicants requesting service extensions and developers would pay the full cost of material, labor and equipment for developments, subdivisions and commercial properties rather than having those costs subsidized by existing customers through rates. Rob said the policy moves informal, previously verbal procedures onto paper with a more detailed schedule of fees.
Board members asked for clarification about implementation and staffing; Rob offered to provide a deeper dive or bring the city engineer to answer technical questions. The board approved the policy during the meeting.
City officials said the policy is intended to ensure new developments bear their direct connection costs and to protect ratepayers from subsidizing large developments. The exact fee schedule and effective date were included in the packet distributed to board members before the meeting.
