Advisory committee weighs expanded residential tiers and surcharge options as CAP cuts loom

Committee members spent substantial time on rate design and conservation tools, reviewing staff proposals to expand residential usage tiers to add breakpoints that would target a small number of very high users. One chart in the packet showed about 69 residential customers (roughly 3.5%) account for about 20% of residential volume, a data point members said supports targeted tiers for very large users.

Members debated mechanics and timing. Speaker 4 said the worksheet demonstrates the "biggest bang for the buck" is residential outreach and targeted pricing; Nancy and others pushed to present a tier expansion to council in October so changes could be considered for next year's bills. Staff emphasized legal and procedural constraints: changes to adopted rates typically require a staff report and public hearing process (a rate study can be done internally or by consultants), but the town code already authorizes council to enact drought surcharges by resolution when shortages are declared, which could allow faster, temporary cost recovery while a formal study is completed. "Once we know the cut, that triggers on stuff," staff said, noting uncertainty about how deep CAP cuts will be and whether a 14% municipal/industrial cut would be manageable with current resources.

The committee asked staff to refine the data (lot sizes, pool presence, multi‑meter compounds) and to coordinate with the consultant (Maddaus) to present distributional impacts before any formal council recommendation. Members requested more targeted analysis on the small group of highest‑use residential accounts before deciding on final tier breakpoints or permanent surcharges.