Wednesday, May 16, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
City adopts new water, sewer rates
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
The Sisters City Council
approved adoption of new
methodologies and rates
for water and sewer sys-
tem development charges
(SDCs), effective May 10,
that will recover the actual
costs of providing the ser-
vices. The City recently
updated its water and sewer
master plans, which provided
an opportune time to update
its SDCs.
Water and sewer SDCs
were last updated 11 years
ago in 2007, and were based
on a “plumbing fixture
unit” basis, a cumbersome
and inaccurate method usu-
ally used when there are no
meters. Donovan Enterprises
was hired to conduct the new
review and update.
A water- and sewer-
rate study, conducted in
November 2017 by FCS
Group, resulted in proposed
fee increases to both the
water and sewer rates for
existing customers of two
percent per year for the funds
as a whole, effective July 1,
2018.
A two percent increase
in utility rates will result in
an estimated $24,000 to the
water fund. For the average
residential customer with a
three-quarter-inch meter (95
percent of city meters), the
base water rate will increase
from $15.50 per month to
$16.05, with the same charge
of $1 per 100 cubic feet vol-
ume rate. Larger meters will
have proportionally higher
base rates.
The key objectives of
the study done by Donovan
included analyzing capital
project costs, existing fund
balances, and required SDC
revenues to keep up with
growth, as well as determin-
ing the most appropriate and
defensible fee methodology.
SDCs are one-time
charges for new develop-
ment or expansion of exist-
ing development, and are
assessed at the time of devel-
opment approval or increased
usage of the system. The fees
are designed to recover costs
of infrastructure capacity
needed to serve new devel-
opment. SDCs ensure that
development is paying its
way by providing a propor-
tionate share of the cost of
existing and planned/future
capital facilities that serve
the development property.
Water and sewer are only
two of the SDC categories
for which fees are charged on
new development. The others
are streets and parks, which
are also directly impacted
by growth. Sisters’ total
SDC charges are currently
the lowest in the tri-county
area at $9,910. Bend charges
$22,520 per unit and La Pine
is $10,534.
The newly adopted meth-
odology for determining
water and sewer SDCs is
meter-based, with a flat fee
established for each size of
meter from three-quarter-
inch to eight-inch. For a
single-family residential unit
with a three-quarter-inch
meter the water SDC will
increase $2 to $3,338 and the
sewer SDC will increase $97
to $4,463. The sum of these
maximum fees amounts to
$7,701 per unit, $99 more
than the current amount of
$7,602. These increases still
keep the total SDCs below
$10,000 per unit, less than
half of Bend’s charges.
Donovan also recom-
mended the City adopt a pol-
icy of reviewing SDCs every
five years, with the ability
to apply a cost adjustment
index to the SDC rates annu-
ally if necessary to reflect
changes in land and construc-
tion costs.
Two components have
been considered for over
20 years when establish-
ing water and wastewater
(sewer) SDCs. The reim-
bursement fee considers the
cost of existing facilities,
prior contributions by exist-
ing users of those facilities,
the value of the unused/avail-
able capacity, and generally
accepted ratemaking princi-
ples. The objective is future
system users contribute no
more than an equitable share
to the cost of existing facili-
ties. The reimbursement fee
can be spent on capital costs
or debt service related to the
systems for which the SDC is
applied.
The improvement fee por-
tion of the SDC is based on
the cost of planned future
facilities that expand the
system’s capacity to accom-
modate growth or increase
its level of performance. The
improvement SDC is calcu-
lated as a function of the esti-
mated number of additional
equivalent residential units
to be served by the City’s
facilities over the planning
period. The improvement fee
is intended to protect existing
customers from the cost bur-
den and impact of expanding
a system that is already ade-
quate for their own needs in
the absence of growth.
“The advantage of having
a robust capital plan for all
City services is that the City
is able to keep up with the
needs of population growth,”
according to Public Works
Director Paul Bertagna.
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Sisters
SENIORS: Alliance
will hold “next steps”
meeting May 30
Continued from page 11
about the services to iso-
lated seniors. Some won-
dered what is the level of
community commitment
to focusing on needs of all
ages; and why there were
so few young people at the
event.
Priorities included: trans-
portation; multi-purpose
community center; improved
communication about what’s
available; housing for seniors
of varying incomes; youth-
to-senior involvement; local
government leadership;
access to healthcare; consoli-
dation of resources; ability to
age in place without leaving
community.
When C4C asked about
issues that may divide Sisters
Country, responses included:
income inequality, old-tim-
ers vs. newcomers, growth/
no growth, liberal/conser-
vative, lack of diversity in
decision-making, bullying,
funding sources, residents
vs. visitors, public land
People & Pet
Friendly Lawn
Maintenance
Services
21
conflicts, special-interest
groups.
Ninety percent indicated
they would be willing to
participate in future C4C-
sponsored community con-
versations and suggested
future topics: Sharing public
lands; freedom of speech;
bridging divides; senior
resources; affordable trans-
portation; medical access;
how to deflate bigotry; senior
education; law enforce-
ment for traffic/driving
offenses.
Copies of all the research
materials and information for
seniors are available in the
SAGE room at Sisters Park
& Recreation District.
Volunteers from the
Senior Alliance will staff an
information table at the May
19 Volunteer Fair at SPRD
from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A “Next Steps” meet-
ing for the Age Friendly
Communities initiative
will be held on May 30 at
The Pines Clubhouse on
Brooks Camp Road at 8:30
a.m. A new alliance will be
created to take this com-
munity conversation to
the next level. All ages are
welcome.
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Featured Artists: Skilled watercolor artist Winnie Givot
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