Ratepayers Utility Rate Board Petition: filed; approved; amended; received Ballot Title

 

Ratepayers Utility Rate Board Petition

 Whereas utilities are vital services with huge, spread-out infrastructure and very high overhead costs, so they are natural monopolies and must therefore be regulated to keep rates equitable;

Whereas, for over 60 years, base rates were set to pay the monthly overhead bills of our water system with a monthly charge, so the overhead was always fully paid;

Whereas unit rates, to pay expenses that rise and fall with use of water, were set to allow everyone to use as much water as we wished, so cheap that we thought of water as free from the faucet; 

Whereas our sewage treatment system charged only base rates to cover all expenses, as sewage cannot be directly measured, and all sewage must be cleaned to drinking water standard and returned to the river;

Whereas our City Councils over the last 30 years have forgotten their duty to keep our utility rates affordable for all beneficial uses while covering all costs, and are instead rationing our utilities by price, with base rates that can’t cover the monthly overhead, and high unit rates designed to discourage use;

Whereas our City Council voted to charge unit rates for sewage, by averaging our winter water use and charging us that many units every month at sewage unit rates, much higher than water unit rates; 

Whereas people cannot reduce their bodily waste, but they can run less water down the drain.  Less water to carry waste causes sewage pumps to clog;

Whereas usage drops because of high unit rates, the overhead cannot be fully paid, and both base and unit rates are hiked to cover the overhead, causing even less use and more rate hikes, in a vicious pricing spiral that can only end when we cannot cut use of water any further or the rationing rate system is abandoned;

Whereas water vapor is the great moderator of our weather, holding heat by thermal mass, cloud blanketing and condensation, and cooling by evaporation, precipitation, and cloud shading;

Whereas rationing rates for water have been imposed in cities around the world.  Less irrigation makes less humidity, less rain, higher highs, lower lows, drought, flooding, and huge fires.  These are desert conditions, a return to the weather after beaver were nearly wiped out and before water plants were built;

Whereas our City Council and Manager are using our utility bills to collect fees for non-utilities and a franchise fee for the water utility we own and operate, which goes into the general fund.  Now our Council is considering making police a utility.   This destroys the meaning of utilities.  If people and their equipment can be called a utility and put on our utility bills, our whole city government could be called a utility;

Therefore we, the electors of the City of Grants Pass, petition to amend our City Charter by adding this Chapter VIII to the Grants Pass City Charter, with ORDINANCES becoming CHAPTER IX and PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, CHAPTER X:

 

CHAPTER VIII: RATEPAYERS UTILITY RATE BOARD

       Section 1. POWERS VESTED.  The power to define utilities and to set their rates shall be vested in the Ratepayers Utility Rate Board (Ratepayers Board or Board).  Only Ratepayers-Board-defined City utilities shall be included on City of Grants Pass utility bills.

       Section 2.  COMPOSITION. The Ratepayers Board shall be composed of five members, elected from Grants Pass electors in non-partisan elections.  As their first order of business each year, a Chairperson shall be elected by the Ratepayers Board from their ranks, to run their meetings and to sign and deliver utility rates to the City Manager.

       Section 3.  TERMS OF OFFICE.   Five Ratepayers Board members shall be elected in the general election following the passage of this Charter amendment.  Seats 1, 2, and 3 shall have a two-year term the first election and may stand for reelection in the general election in November of the year their terms end.  Seats 4 and 5 shall serve four years and may stand for reelection in the general election in November of the year their terms end. 

       Thereafter, all Ratepayers Board members shall serve 4-year terms and may be elected in general elections for seats 1, 2, and 3, followed in the November general election two years later by election of seats 4 and 5.

      Section 4.  VACANCIES.  A Ratepayers Board seat shall be declared vacant upon resignation, death, disability, or the member ceasing to be qualified for the office.  Vacancies occurring more than 100 days before the next general election shall be filled at that election.  Vacancies less than 100 days before the next general election will be filled at the next May election.  In each case, the new member will serve the rest of the term.  Each vacancy that occurs during rate setting will reduce the quorum by one for that year.

      Section 5.  QUALIFICATIONS.  City of Grants Pass electors who have lived in the City of Grants Pass for at least a year at the time of filing, use one or more City utilities and are not in a household that includes any paid or unpaid elected or appointed City employee or contractor in the previous 2 years, are qualified to serve on this Board.

       Section 6.   COMPENSATION.  Ratepayers Board members shall be paid $100 per diem for attendance the first year to set rates, up to 5 days per year.  The starting date and meeting room shall be set by the City for the convenience of the City.  Board members shall be paid on the day after utility rates have been set and sent to the City Manager.  Per diem shall be increased for the next year by the CPI from the previous year, after all other rates are set. 

      Section 7.  VOTING.  Voting on rates shall be by roll call and the ayes and nays shall be recorded in a journal.  Three members shall constitute a quorum unless a vacancy occurs during rate setting, per section 4.  Absent members shall not be paid per diem for days they are absent.  Lack of quorum shall cause rate setting to be extended until a quorum has met for five days and rates have been set.  No per diem will be paid for days that a quorum is not met.

       Section 8.  PRINCIPLES OF RATESETTING.  Ratepayers Board members shall take an oath to abide by these fiscal principles before setting rates each year:   

A.      Monthly base rates for water shall pay all overhead, expenses that do not rise and fall with the volume of cleaned water produced.  Base Rates shall be based proportionally on water service size, per connection.  Base rates shall rise by actual inflation of the previous year’s overhead costs over the year before.

B.      A single unit rate for water shall pay for all unit costs, which rise and fall with the volume of cleaned water produced.  Water unit rates shall be total unit cost the previous year, divided by the number of total units produced the previous year.  Water units shall be 1000 gallons for easy figuring of unit rates. 

C.      Base rates shall cover all sewage treatment costs, with rates to be based proportionally on sewer service size, per connection.  Sewer base rates shall rise by actual inflation of sewer costs in the previous year over the year before.

D.     Bulk water haulers shall pay the ¾ inch base rate per month, plus the standard unit rate per 1000 gallons of their loads.

      Section 9.  RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE CITY MANAGER AND COUNCIL.  Two weeks before Rate-Setting Week, the City Manager shall send each member of the Ratepayers Board: detailed monthly expenses for the preceding two years for Board-defined City utilities; the size and number of water and sewer connections, separately divided by utility and class, based on the size of their water and sewer connections; the number of 1000-gallon units produced by the water plant; and the previous year’s Consumer Price Index.  Overhead and unit cost expenses shall include a contingency fund to cover actual inflation of expenses during the year and a separate maintenance contingency fund. 

After utility rates are set and delivered to the City Manager, the Manager shall submit the utility rates to the City Council.  The Council shall approve the rates of the utilities as an ordinance at their next business meeting.  Said ordinance shall not be vetoed.

-end-

Notice of receipt of Ballot Title 

The City of Grants Pass Elections Officer received the ballot title for an initiative to establish a Ratepayers Utility Rate Board. 

CAPTION: Amends Grants Pass Charter: establishes a Ratepayers Utility Rate Board. 

QUESTION: Shall a Ratepayers Utility Rate Board be established in the City of Grants Pass? 

SUMMARY: Amends the Grants Pass Charter. Creates a Ratepayers Utility Rate Board to define “utilities” and set utility rates in Grants Pass. Establishes the board’s composition and terms of office. Outlines qualifications and procedure for filling vacancies. Sets a per diem of $100 for attendance up to five days a year. Increases the per diem by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the previous year. Establishes voting procedures. Requires board members to take an oath to abide by board-created rate-setting principles. Prior to Rate-Setting Week, requires the City Manager to send the board detailed monthly expenses for the preceding two years for utilities, the size and number of water and sewer connections, the number of 1000-gallon units produced by the Water Plant, and the prior year’s CPI. Requires that overhead and unit cost expenses include a contingency fund and a separate maintenance fund. Requires the City Manager to deliver the rates to the City Council. Requires the City Council to approve the rates as an ordinance at the next business meeting. Ordinance will be vetoproof. 

It has been determined that this measure meets the single subject requirement and the municipal legislation requirement of the Oregon Constitution Article IV, Section 1, (2)(d) and (5), and ORS 250.270. The ballot title may be reviewed in the City of Grants Pass Administration Office, 101 NW ‘A’ Street, Grants Pass Oregon 97526 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Pursuant to ORS 250.035, 250.275, and 250.296, any elector dissatisfied with this ballot title may petition the Josephine County Circuit Court seeking a different title and stating the reasons the title is insufficient, not concise, or unfair. That petition must be filed no later than the seventh business day after the title was filed with the City Elections Officer. The ballot title was filed with the City Elections Officer on September 1, 2023. Petitions for judicial review are due no later than September 12, 2023. 

Karen Frerk 

City Recorder (Elections Officer)

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We got the above Notice of Ballot Title yesterday via email, and it was published on September 1st in the Grants Pass Daily Courier. 

 I have to appeal it to the Circuit Court.  There is one factual error, and one unfair lack of information regarding the contingency fund in the Summary.  

 The factual error is, "Requires board members to take an oath to abide by board-created rate setting principles." (emphasis added) This regards "Section 8, PRINCIPLES OF RATE SETTING.  Ratepayers Board members shall take an oath to abide by these fiscal principles before setting rates each year:..."

 These principles will be written into the Charter when this initiative passes.  The Ratepayers Board will not even exist until City voters elect its members.  No board created these principles.  I did.  After it passes, only the voters may change these principles.  The Board will only define utilities and follow these principles to set the utility rates, which is a mathematical exercise akin to what the City's bookkeeper did before the City started rationing water by rates and hired a consultant to justify it and set the rates, for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

 Interesting that "errors of fact" are not included in the reasons to appeal a ballot title.  I guess that they expected an attorney to do a better job of summarizing facts.  "Board-created" needs to be deleted.  It is not concise; it is false and therefore unnecessary.

 The second error, one of insufficiency and unfairness, is: "Requires that overhead and unit cost expenses include a contingency fund and a separate maintenance fund."

 This summarizes the last sentence in the first paragraph of Section 9.  It is missing the reason for the first contingency fund, and that both funds are contingency funds: "Overhead and unit cost expenses shall include a contingency fund to cover actual inflation of expenses during the year and a separate maintenance contingency fund."   (Emphasis on missing words)

Telling us about "a contingency fund" and not including the reason for it may leave voters wondering what it is for, making them suspicious.  Too many people may not read the actual measure to find out.  Not only that, but that sentence includes two contingency funds, but mentions only one as a contingency fund.

If using the wording in the measure would take too many words, they could say, "Requires two contingency funds, one for actual inflation of expenses during the year and another for maintenance contingencies."

 I must file the appeal on or before September 12th.  There will be a filing fee, probably $281.

Before that, I will prepare a Referendum Petition, along with cover pages and signature sheets, for September 7th, to file the day after the Council finishes passing their Public Safety Utility Fee, September 6th if they can do so.  It must include the whole ordinance, 9 pages.  The sheer length of it will give people pause. 

This will give us something to collect signatures on until the Circuit Court rules on the ballot title appeal.  From there, we will circulate two petitions until the thirty days are up and continue with the initiative.

 We need to collect 2,740 signatures in 30 days from the date the ordinance is passed.  We can file cover and signature sheets and start collecting signatures before the ballot title is complete, the time being so short.  

Seems a daunting task, but referendums tend to spread like wildfire, and if nothing else, it will stop any action on the Public Safety Utility Fee until the 30 days are up, and we should get more circulators and donations for the initiative.