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Montrose staff propose small monthly "technology" fee to cover cellular water‑meter costs
Summary
City staff outlined adding a small monthly technology fee (options: $0.25, $0.35 or $0.50) to water accounts to recover cellular-meter reading and licensing costs and to reduce pressure on the water enterprise fund; staff will bring options to the council for approval.
Staff member said the city is currently absorbing the costs of cellular water-meter reading and suggested a modest per-account "technology" fee to cover those expenses. "So it would be at a rate of we could do 25¢, 35¢, 50¢," the Staff member said while reviewing a spreadsheet that showed the city paid $3,736.50 for meter-related charges in 2023 and $4,082.29 in 2024. Staff clarified those totals are annual figures for meter read and licensing expenses.
The Staff member emphasized the charges include both meter-reading connectivity and access to a customer-facing service (Ion Water) that provides usage and leak-notification features. The staff presentation noted that some licensing and access fees increased in the most recent year. Committee members agreed the fee would be small relative to typical rate adjustments and recommended reviewing the charge annually; the committee directed staff to prepare fee-schedule language and bring the proposal to the City Council for approval. No formal vote occurred at this meeting.
