Agenda Packets - 1995/08/29 - Laserfiche WebLink

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residences, incorrect readings, scheduling final readings when the customer is at home, and an enormous amount of staff time related to all of the aforementioned items. Option #2 Changeout Commercial accounts to phone read, residential to touch read. Total cost of Project : $505, 914 WAC Fund Contribution: $305, 914 Special Project Loan : $200, 000 967 interest loan, 10 years Projected Revenue Increase $31, 500 Annual loan payment $26, 613 Contracted Meter Reading $ 5, 880 (includes 4 readings) * 1995 Budgeted amount for 1 contracted reading, $4, 095 . Possible meter charge / quarter, potentially not necessary u- _ - ■, • _ .. . - - _-w a -- -- --- '- - r Council may wish to initiate a charge to create a fund for future meter system upgrades, or system wide water related improvements, similar to the Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Fund. *** The third option would be to do nothing, and continue to lose potential revenue . Option #3 Do nothing to the water meter system. Water Enterprise Fund will lose approximately $31, 500 this year, and through aging meters, resulting in decreased accuracies, the fund will continue to lose increasingly more revenues in the future . It should be noted, that these figures are based on calculations of a random selection of water meters, for percent accuracy and projected revenue estimates . Not all commercial accounts will be capable of phone read. In this case radio read equipment will be install, which is slightly higher than phone equipment in price . As mentioned earlier, the Water Department is an Enterprise Fund, which should by design, be self funded through it' s revenue earned. Currently the fund is not receiving all of it' s potential revenue. Operating the Department, or City, as if it were a business, which was one of the Focus 2000 goals, may suggest that this is an opportune time to recoup revenue earned, and prevent potential loss of future earnings. **** Staff is anticipating that we will encounter a few residents that will either object to connecting to their phone line, or will not allow wires to be installed in a finished basement, where the phone service and the water service are not in the same room. In the event that this happens, the resident will have the option of paying the difference between a MIU (phone read box) , and a MXU (radio read box) . This amount is approximately $25 . The City is expected to have a small radio route, due to the fact that many businesses may have electronic phone systems, that will not allow a meter interface. **** One other anticipated problem is possible, and that is, if the resident will not allow an installer to enter the premises to install the new meter. Staff recommends that an additional $50 per quarter billing charge, be added to the water bill . It is the City' s intention to have full participation in this system, and not allow any meter not to be read automatically. It is already known that there are residents that have not allowed any meter readers, including full time staff to