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Westminster staff advances four‑tier water plan; council split over rate trade‑offs
Summary
Staff presented Water Task Force recommendations to move to a four‑tier residential water rate, create a separate multifamily class and adopt Option 1A that lowers multifamily bills but reduces capital funding by roughly $1.5 million a year; councilors asked staff to return with further modelling before any ordinance.
Assistant City Manager Chris Lindsay and Interim Public Works & Utilities Director Andrea Song presented the Water Task Force’s recommendations and staff’s Option 1A for 2027–28 utility rates, urging the council to protect essential indoor use while right‑sizing multifamily charges.
“We’re going to start this evening with, water rates,” Lindsay said, and summarized the task force’s shift from a three‑tier to a four‑tier structure to better support essential indoor water use. Song added that the task force “recommended this separation from the irrigation class” for multifamily customers and that multifamily average indoor use is about 3,000 gallons per month, versus 4,000 for single family.
Nut graf: The package would lower bills for many multifamily customers — a change city staff called “the first time ever that we've recommended a decrease in multifamily rates” — but staff warned the Option 1A adjustment reduces water‑system revenue and could cut capital projects. “Moving from the water task force … to 1A will decrease revenues and the water capital projects by an amount of approximately $1,500,000 a year,” Lindsay said.
Councilors voiced competing priorities. Councilor Azadi said the four‑tier approach protects essential indoor water use and proposed aligning Tier 2 closer to Tier 1 to extend relief to larger households; she urged modeling to test equity effects across household sizes. Councilor Ireland said she feared the proposed structure could hurt families and repeatedly pressed for a 4.5% cap that she said had been discussed previously.
Staff repeatedly stressed tradeoffs: lowering rates for multifamily customers reduces funds for long‑term capital projects — including the new treatment plant and infrastructure maintenance — and that sewer and stormwater are separate enterprise funds that also must balance their own budgets.
The council declined to adopt final rates and instead asked staff to return with additional modelling, including impacts on Tier 3 and Tier 4 rates, the capital program, and options to phase changes. Staff said they will come back to another study session with revised scenarios before any ordinance or vote.
Ending: Councilors praised the Water Task Force’s work and committed to more analysis. Staff said the cost‑of‑service report will be finished this year and that the council’s direction will inform ordinance drafting for any formal adoption later in the budget process.
