By Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
City of Sweet Home water bills are at the upper end of a group of similarly sized cities, but comparisons of operational costs among different cities is difficult, thanks to a variety of variables.
That’s the message city staff gave to the council during a work session on June 11 as the council continued to mull changes to the rates.
The council is considering three options for residential rates. The current water bill for users of 600 cubic feet is $46.49 per month – for water only. Under the three options, bills for 600 cubic feet, which is the average amount of water used each month in Sweet Home, bills would change to $47.74, $43.27 or $48.52.
Every resident using 300 cubic feet or less each month would see a smaller bill under each option. Commercial and industrial water users would see larger bills under all three scenarios.
The city projects $2.3 million in revenue from the new rates. It projects $2.5 million in water expenses in 2019-20. Existing reserves will cover the difference.
Engineering technician Trish Rice gave the council an overview of the water system, noting that city’s water pipes are old. Many of them leak or are blocked by corrosion.
Parts of the system still have original lines from the 1930s, Rice said, while their design life is just 50 years. While the city has been replacing 2-inch water mains, which are prone to leaks and provide less pressure and efficiency, the city still has them.
Since 1999, the city has spent some $3.8 million in the water distribution system, she said. That’s enough to replace 8.5 miles of water lines, 15.7 percent of the 54 miles of city water lines.
At times, the city’s Water Treatment Plant has lost almost half of the water it treats, she said.
The city located numerous leaks during the fall and is now in the process of repairing them, and it shut down a leaking reservoir.
“We have had some sections that have been a clamp on a clamp on a clamp,” Rice said about the repairs. “You can’t clamp it any more.”
The crew is replacing those 4- to 5-foot sections when more repair clamps won’t work, she said. One section of 9th Avenue, between Catalpa and Cedar streets, has had 27 leak repairs; and that pipe remains in service.
Rice showed a map displaying 450 leak repairs on pipes that are still in service throughout the city. Since 1980, the city has repaired more than 700 leaks. For the pipes that are still in service, those repairs cost some $270,000 and took 4,200 hours of staff time.
Some 20 percent, 11 miles, of the water system is nearly 50 years old, she said, and 27 percent, 16 miles, exceeds the 50-year design life.
Some of the pipes are so old that just turning a valve can knock a little rust loose and start a leak, said Public Works Director Greg Springman.
The pipes are under the streets, said City Manager Ray Towry. “It’s affecting the structural integrity of our streets.”
The system also has several problems with water pressure, Rice said. Routine activity at the Treatment Plant can cut pressure.
As they analyzed water rates in different cities along with their budgets, Finance Director Brandon Neish said, city staff learned that population alone is not a good indicator of the size of a water system or the needs of the system.
Variables affecting budgets and rates include the age of the systems, water sources, development density and even the shape of the city, Neish said. Municipalities also arrange their rate structures differently, including different parts of water production in the fixed “base charge” and in the variable “commodity charge.”
Stayton had a $4.5 million transfer into its water rates, effectively buying down the rate, Neish said. Monmouth draws its water from four wells and has different, lower treatment costs.
Some cities set rates every three to five years, with larger increases, he said, while other cities review and change rates annually.
Higher population density means lower maintenance costs per mile, Neish said. Sweet Home is low-density, spreading maintenance costs per mile over relatively fewer services.
Sweet Home has 54 miles of pipe, while Independence has just 35 miles and Monmouth has 37 miles. Silverton, which is a little larger than Sweet Home, has 58 miles of water lines, while Stayton has 44 miles.
By way of comparison, the price for 600 cubic feet of water in Independence is $52.62; Molalla, $31.14; Monmouth, $33.95; Silverton, $35.87; and Stayton, $33.60. Sweet Home’s current bill at 600 cubic feet is $46.49.
Savings from repairing water lines may not show immediately, Neish said. The city pays a contracted amount to Jacobs to operate the Water Treatment Plant.
Jacobs is budgeted to receive $1,061,000 this year, Springman said.
As leak repairs decrease costs, though, Towry said, “we certainly have the ability to go to Jacobs and say, ‘let’s revisit that.’”
Of Sweet Home’s water revenue, 21.9 percent goes to personnel costs, 38.4 percent to treatment, 3.6 percent to operations and maintenance of the distribution system, 11.8 percent to administrative and financial services, 2.8 percent to reserves and 21.5 percent to the treatment plant reserve.
“I think we have a solid plan,” Springman said. “We have experienced staff. We’re delivering. This is taking it to the next level.”
“I know we have a lot of issues,” said Councilor James Goble. “But what about staying within our means?”
The rates keep jumping more and more, he said. “I think we’re overreaching.”
“We’re playing catch-up now,” said Councilor Dave Trask. “We kind of got caught, and we’re going to pay the price.”
Councilor Diane Gerson asked whether the city could charge customers regular amounts based on their usage, like the power and natural gas utilities do.
The city’s finance software does have that ability, Neish said, but it would take time to set it up.
Neish also provided comparisons for the city’s storm water charge, which is $1 per month for residences. City staff proposed raising it to $3 per month to help fund a project in the area of 38th and Long and to update the storm water master plan.
Comparing Sweet Home to other cities, Independence charges $1.42 per month plus an additional $10.08 per equivalent dwelling unit; Molalla, $3.74 per month; Silverton, $7.16 per month; Stayton, $1.58 per month; Lebanon, $3.47 per month; Albany, $6.88 per month; Corvallis, $9.02 per month; and Philomath, $2 per month.
Councilors addressed the issue in a work session, so did not take action on the rates. The council has not yet scheduled rates for further discussion or a decision.
Present at the meeting were Susan Coleman, Lisa Gourley, Mayor Greg Mahler, Gerson, Goble and Trask. Cortney Nash was absent.
During the regular meeting, following the work session, the council:
n Approved a resolution creating an internal services fund, which was part of a controversial budget decision to transfer funds from the police and library levies to cover administration and finance costs. Other departments also will transfer money to the Internal Services Fund.
The council initially voted 3-3, with Gourley, Gerson and Goble voting against it and Coleman, Mahler and Trask voting for it. Gourley and Gerson, along with Nash, had voted against approving the budget last month.
After a discussion, the council voted again and passed the resolution unanimously.
Gerson and Gourley both raised concerns about the resolution coming after the budget. Trask pointed out that the creation of the Internal Services Fund has been a part of the budget discussion since February when it went to the Administration, Finance and Property Committee and then during Budget Committee meetings.
Neish said the resolution is required by state law to create the fund.
n Approved a contract with Grove, Mueller & Swank to conduct the city’s 2018-19 audit for no more than $30,000. The city has contracted with the firm since 2001.
n Approved a resolution eliminating fines and for overdue library materials and fees for nonresident library cards for children and teens in the Sweet Home area to allow them to continue reading and improving their language skills during the summer.
n Approved an agreement with Cascade Timber Consulting to provide consulting services for hazardous trees and to obtain the best price the city can for selling timber. CTC will receive 2.5 percent of the gross proceeds for marketing city logs.