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3 <br />Charlottesville, and the Town of Scottsville and desires to secure DEQ grant funds to <br />help offset the cost of the plan development. <br /> <br />NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED <br /> that the City Council of the City of <br />Charlottesville authorizes the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority to develop an <br />application for water supply planning grant funds and to develop a regional water supply <br />plan which will meet mandated regulations on behalf of the City, and be it further <br /> <br />RESOLVED <br /> that the Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority is authorized to sign the <br />DEQ grant contract and other appropriate documents related to the source water planning <br />grant and the regional source water supply plan. <br /> <br />PUBLIC HEARING/ORDINANCE <br />: UTILITY RATES <br /> <br /> Mr. Bernard Wray, Director of Finance, reviewed the proposed utility rates as <br />follows: 4.9 increase in water; 4.1% increase in wastewater; and 5.88% increase in gas. <br /> <br /> The public hearing was opened. <br /> <br /> Ms. Colette Hall, 101 Robertson Lane, asked why there is an increase in water <br />and sewer rates. <br /> <br /> As there were no further speakers, the public hearing was closed. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Schilling, Mr. Tom Cox of Draper Aden said <br />that additional water is being purchased across a larger community. He said unaccounted <br />for water use is higher. He said in theory if we sell more water, the cost goes down, but <br />Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority’s cost are up. <br /> <br /> Responding to a question from Mr. Schilling, Mr. Scott Heath of Heath and <br />Associates said that there is a lower percentage of gas sales to industrial customers. He <br />said residential gas sales are mostly seasonal. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling asked why we provide conservation incentives, such as rebates for <br />programmable thermostats, if it is better for people to use more gas. <br /> <br /> Mr. Heath said the rebate program was a pre-existing program. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling said 2007 increases are moderated by refunds from a settlement <br />with gas suppliers, and he asked about the amount of savings, but Mr. Heath said that was <br />not calculated. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling asked about the increase due to replacement of water meters. <br /> <br /> Responding to question from Mr. Schilling, Mr. Cox said that city wide allocation <br />is up for all utilities, as revenues go up, payments in lieu of taxes goes up, and the <br />funding for the new integrated system has been shifted now across all city departments. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling said he has been contacted by a constituent about late charges <br />associated with City Notes in utilities bills. <br /> <br /> Responding to Mr. Schilling’s question about water meters, Ms. Judy Mueller, <br />Director of Public Works, said there have been major failures in the electronic parts of <br />almost one fourth of the meters and they are out of warranty. <br /> <br /> Mr. Schilling asked about liability for the meters, and Mr. Craig Brown, City <br />Attorney, said he would need to have more information. <br /> <br /> Ms. Mueller said that costs are divided out based on materials stored in and use of <br />the warehouse. She said we are able to reflect more precise use of the warehouse now. <br />Ms. Mueller said that the customer service initiative is being done to try to make City <br />Hall more user friendly. <br /> <br />