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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - City Council - Meeting Date: 8/20/2012 MINUTES CITY OF GLENDALE AD HOC CITIZEN TASK FORCE ON WATER AND SEWER PALO VERDE ROOM ADULT CENTER 5970 W. BROWN STREET GLENDALE,ARIZONA 85301 MONDAY,AUGUST 20,2012 6:00 p.m. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6 p.m. by Michael Ashcraft, facilitator. He gave a brief overview of the agenda and anticipated timeframe for the evening's events. He informed the Task Force that they are on schedule and after the September 17 meeting, the September 24 meeting might not be necessary. He explained that it may be possible to also vacate the Monday, October 29 meeting due to prior commitments by a large number of TF members. ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE MAY 21, 2012 MEETINGS Sally Melling, Water Services Sr. Secretary, asked for approval of the Final Minutes for the July 16, 2012 meeting from the Task Force. Comm. Garland made a motion to approve, seconded by Comm. Ray. The minutes were unanimously approved as written by voice vote. Mike Ashcraft announced that the Task Force is at the half-way point in the schedule and commended everyone for their efforts. He explained that priorities based on the committee's areas of interest will begin to be finalized at the October 2 meeting. The results will be discussed at the October 30 meeting and recommendations to Council will be drafted. URBAN IRRIGATION PRESENTATION Mark Fortkamp, Wastewater Collections Superintendent, presented information on the urban irrigation program. He stated that the system is aged and in need of repair. A rehabilitation study was conducted in April 1992 and determined it would cost between $6-7.2 million dollars to bring the system current. At this time, repairs are only made as issues arise. At its peak, 1,600 customers received irrigation services. In 2011, 336 customers were served. The irrigation delivery cycle lasts 7 months, from April through October. The system consists of approximately 23 miles of lines, valves, and diversion boxes. Last year, the city received 561 acre feet of irrigation water. SRP currently has 2 lateral lines to feed Glendale, they are located at 59th Avenue and 51St Avenue. He addressed several known problem causers for the system, such as roots and aging pipes. He directed the members to several charts detailing the costs and stated that 29% of the system's costs were recovered in 2011 from customer generated revenue. August 20, 2012 Ad Hoc Citizen Task Force on Water and Sewer Minutes Page 2 Task Force members were given the opportunity to ask questions. Comm. Livingston asked what would happen if WS no longer provided the water for irrigation. (It's required by city ordinance. Craig Johnson explained that a significant cost savings has been implemented this year. Yes, the service could be terminated by working through the process with the City Council to have it stopped by an ordinance. This is an item that could be discussed by the Task Force if they choose at a later time with their recommendation to Council.) Comm. Sherwood asked if there was a cheaper alternative in dealing with SRP. (Yes, some areas receive this service directly from SRP Self-Serve. But SRP customers also have to pay costs to repair pipes, maintain the system, etc.) Who is picking up the difference between what customers actually pay and the how much it costs? (Every year the department goes before Council with their budget needs and this cost comes out of the fund balance for the department.) Does the irrigation service stay with the property or go with the owner if they move? (With the property. If a property owner pulls out of the program, they are not allowed to join back in.) Does SRP self-serve customers' water use the same pipes as the city's irrigation water? (Yes.) Is it all untreated SRP water? (Yes.) Comm. Livingston pointed out that most people are growing their food with irrigation water. He stated that if he was watering like they do, he would have a huge water bill. He questioned why he should accept that. He would like a senior citizen rate established. Another commissioner asked what effect it would have on the city if providing irrigation was just stopped immediately. (Craig replied that the amount of water used is so small that the effect is infinitesimal.) On the system, the infrastructure, landscaping, property values, etc? (Too small to matter.) Mark Fortkamp continued his presentation with current program facts. He stated that Salt River Irrigation won a competitive bid which resulted in increased savings to the city. One commissioner pointed out that the irrigation system has a tremendous amount of leaks. (Mark agreed. And pointed out that maintaining it entails hand digging for the repairs.) (The system is dynamic and not getting any better.) Comm. Stratton asked if Mark could give an estimate for a 12,000 sq. foot lot (with irrigation cost is $169) if the irrigation program was shut off. (Mark estimates it would be an increase of 7 times more with metered water.) Comm. Sharp asked who shares SRP lines. (Schools, customers, and self-servers.) If there was a break during the time when no irrigation delivery was occurring, does the city still have an obligation to help pay? (It depends on how the agreement was written.) A comment was made that government costs money to function. That is a given. But the sentiment was expressed that people need to pay their fair share. Comm. Loya asked how much more would irrigation customers have to pay if the program was shut off? (Mark replied that to get the same amount of water that an irrigation customer is seeing today, it would cost around 7 times more with metered water.) Comm. Loya replied thatpeople aren't going to be able toPaY. Comm. Short noted that the Historic Preservation area in downtown Glendale would be hurt without the grasses, trees, landscaping, etc. that irrigation provides and is an important aspect of the historic air. BILLING AND CUSTOMER SERVICE PRESENTATION Susan Matousek, Revenue Administrator, and Lisa Hord, Customer Service Manager, presented information regarding the city's Billing and Customer Service departments. Susan broke out the three groups Utility Billing, Customer Service, and Cashiering that are within the Customer Service Division. Lisa explained that water meters are read in cycles each month. Cycle 1 is August 20, 2012 Ad Hoc Citizen Task Force on Water and Sewer Minutes Page 3 made up of approximately 22,000 accounts, cycle 2 has 18-19,000 accounts, cycle 3 has 12,000 customers, and cycle 4 has 8-9,000 customers. They explained the voluntary donation program "From the Heart" that is used by agencies to assist Glendale residents facing emergency situations. The Customer Service division was discussed. Ten staff members are available for phone traffic. There is 1 account specialist and 9 customer service representatives that handle about 10,000 calls each month. The Cashiering division has 7 staff members to handle lobby traffic, on-line payments, Surepay, and mailed payments. There are also 4 drop boxes for payments, two located at City Hall and two others at two Fry's Food store locations. The disconnection process was explained with a detailed timeline of occurrences. About 6,000 disconnect notices are sent out each month, with 1,000 accounts actually being turned off. It was stressed that customers are not immediately turned off for being late on their payments without adequate notice. Due to the involved notification process, customers on their 3r1 month of consumption when the water is actually turned off. The Revenue Recovery division has 3 staff members — 1 account specialist and 2 representatives. They attempt to collect payment for residential, and multi-family and commercial accounts that become delinquent. An item will be presented for Council approval; Council will be asked to approve working with a 3rd party collection agency in an attempt to collect for services provided in an effort to get delinquent accounts paid. Lisa explained how sewer rates are determined and the appeal process that customers can go through. Their budget was explained. New ideas were presented: payment kiosks for customer convenience, outbound dialer for payment reminders but also as a cost saving measure, and campaigns to encourage more payments made on the web site, on the autopay phone line, and Surepay. It was noted by several members of the Task Force that postage costs are very high and more customers need to be getting their bills on-line rather than being mailed one. Lisa distributed a customer service report showing peak and low phone and lobby customer hours of use. Input was sought from TF members on allowing more training for staff members by allowing fewer representatives to serve the public during low use hours. That lull will be used to train staff members. Comm. Livingston asked if there was a difference in bills between residential and commercial users? (Yes, landlords and property managers get a few extra days due to possible address differences. There are approximately 200-300 accounts.) He also asked how many of the disconnects that are done are senior citizens. (Unable to track that. That information is not collected on accounts.) He also asked if the commercial vs. residential rates are different. (Craig answered there are different levels of rates.) August 20, 2012 Ad Hoc Citizen Task Force on Water and Sewer Minutes Page 4 Comm. Cruz asked if there were any cost savings to the customer service staff hours being changed. (Lisa said that right now there is only about 1 hour per month that can be dedicated to staff training. Employees would still be working, just that those hours would be spent on training and tax research.) The question was asked if landlords and/or homeowners are still held liable for tenant charges. (No, that was changed.) It was asked if there was a way to track or some way know how many HOA vs non-HOA foreclosures were done. (No, disconnects are handle administratively without tracking of HOA areas.) A question was asked on how disconnects/reconnects are handled. (There is an administrative fee of $54 added to the account total to handle the additional work involved.) How will the kiosks work cost-wise? (A request for quotes is being worked on currently to determine those costs and review feasibility.) Comm. Sherwood had 2 questions. He asked about merchant fees. (Yes, every time a credit card is used to pay a bill, we are charged a fee.) And how large will collection write off recovery be? (Unknown right now. There are no numbers available yet.) Clarification was requested on changing the staff hours: staff will still be working, just not serving customers? (Yes, they will be in training or other administrative tasks.) One commissioner suggested that the bill paying website be looked at. He always has a great deal of trouble trying to log on. He also would like a way other than the account number to access and pay the bill. Sometimes he doesn't have his bill with him (such as at work) and has no way to pay his bill. He suggested accessing his bill by using the address, make it as easy as possible to get it taken care of. The suggestion was made to tack on the vendor fee to bills if customers choose to pay by credit cards. (Lisa replied that option was being looked into.) Comm. Livingston asked about the customer base. (Lisa explained that the lack of new accounts was definitely a negative impact on the customer base, due to foreclosures but now houses are beginning to be rented out and that has helped. New building across the city has now also begun to be seen again.) One commissioner presented a serious problem that is experienced by financial institutions when Surepay is implemented by customers. The issue is that payments are not credited to accounts correctly and customers are then disconnected. (Lisa stated that it would be looked into.) The question was asked if the 2,800 phone calls that come in to the city switchboard are not counted as part of the 10,000 calls that customer service fields every month. (That is correct.) FACILITATED EXERCISE ON PRESENTATIONS Members discussed policy issues and areas of concern and indicated their top areas of interest in the Blue/Red Dot poll. Results will be compiled by staff and distributed at the next meeting. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sally Mi ing, Recordin ecretary