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6 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />the Council meeting. People should remember that they are paying unnecessary rates because of <br />the dam project. <br /> <br />Ms. Colette Hall, 101 Robertson Ln., said the RWSA does not give support for the numbers <br />they publish in their reports . <br /> <br />Mr. Brandon Collins, 418 Fairway Ave., said he has discussed water and gas shut -offs in <br />the City at past utility fees public hearings. This is similar to preventing evictions. There are <br />other ways to get payment, and you should not shut off water or gas to a ny resident in the City. <br /> <br />Having no further speakers, the public hearing was closed. <br /> <br />Ms. Smith thanked Ms. O'Hare for her work on this report and for detailing some of the <br />questions she had. She said it is not true that the City does not profit from the rates; they are built <br />in via payment in lieu of taxes ("PILOT"), which is on water, wastewater and gas. She asked <br />Council to explore eliminating PILOT, at least on water and wastewater. This will save <br />customers about $1.2 million. <br /> <br />Ms. Smith said every y ear we have used more and more from the rate stabilization funds to <br />keep rates from increasing, and we were digging ourselves into a hole. She said the rate is <br />determined by how much we subsidize it more than anything else. We need to find a way to stop <br />d epending on the rate stabilization. <br /> <br />Ms. Szakos asked for a report on the shut -offs and requested information on what has been <br />put in place since last year. <br /> <br />Ms. Galvin asked if we could keep our units of measure consistent, per Ms. Quinn's <br />request. She asked Mr. Jones for his opinion on Ms. Smith's repeated insistence on reviewing <br />the PILOT and whether the effort of a review would be worth it. Mr. Jones said that decision <br />would ultimately be up to City Council to pursue. There would be an impact on our budget. Not <br />the entire $1.2 million is residential; some portion comes from commercial and UVA costs. Ms. <br />Galvin asked for the pros and cons of a transition away from the PILOT. Mr. Huja asked for <br />information on how other communities deal with this. <br /> <br />Mr. Norris said he supports the direction Ms. Smith is going. He said Ms. Quinn is correct <br />about water use declining. It is an undeniable trend at this point. <br /> <br />On motion by Ms. Szakos , seconded by Ms. Galvin, the ordinance carried. <br /> <br /> PUBLIC HEARING / ORDINANCE : HUMAN RIGH TS COMMISSION (2nd reading ) <br /> <br />Human Rights Commission <br /> <br />Mr. Ellis presented to Council. He reviewed the four components of the Human Rights <br />Commission and t he proposed commission charge process, illustrated on the flowchart in