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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-09-29 Packet - CC UVSDCITY OF UKIAH JOINT CITY COUNCIL UKIAH VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT AGENDA Special Meeting CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS 300 Seminary Avenue Ukiah, CA 95482 September 29, 2010 6:00 p.m. 1. ROLL CALL 2. DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE NOTICING OF DELINQUENT SEWER SERVICE CHARGES AND THE DISTRICT'S OPTION TO USE THE TAX ROLL FOR THE COLLECTION OF SEWER SERVICE CHARGES AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF 3. DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE USE OF A THREE MONTH AVERAGE OF WINTER WATER USE IN LIEU OF THE JANUARY WATER USE FOR CALCULATING THE CONSUMPTION COMPONENT OF THE SEWER BILL AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF 4. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO ENGAGE DAVID W. SMITH SERVICES TO ASSIST DISTRICT BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS DISTRICT STAFF AND CITY STAFF, IN IMPROVED GOVERNANCE FUNCTIONS FOR WASTEWATER UTILITY. 5. DISCUSSION OF NEEDED AMENDMENTS TO THE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT AND POSSIBLE FORMATION OF AND DIRECTION TO AD HOC COMMITTEES AND STAFF 6. PUBLIC COMMENT 7. ADJOURNMENT Please be advised that the City needs to be notified 72 hours in advance of a meeting if any specific accommodations or interpreter services are needed in order for you to attend. The City complies with ADA requirements and will attempt to reasonably accommodate individuals with disabilities upon request. Materials related to an item on this Agenda submitted to the City Council after distribution of the agenda packet are available for public inspection at the front counter at the Ukiah Civic Center, 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, CA 95482, during normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm I hereby certify under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the foregoing agenda was posted on the bulletin board at the main entrance of the City of Ukiah City Hall, located at 300 Seminary Avenue, Ukiah, California, not less than 24 hours prior to the meeting set forth on this agenda. Dated this 24th day of September, 2010. Linda C. Brown, Acting City Clerk CLIFFORD PAULIN MICHAEL PALLESEN CHAIR VICE-CHAIR KENT PORTER THERESA MCNERLIN JAMES RONCO DIRECTOR DIRECTOR DIRECTOR UKIAH VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT SPECIAL MEETING AGENDA SEPTEMBER 291) 2010 - 6:00 P.M. JOINT MEETING BETWEEN THE UKIAH VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT AND THE UKIAH CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS - 300 SEMINARY AVENUE - UKIAH, CA 95482 1 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL 2. DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE NOTICING OF DELINQUENT SEWER SERVICE CHARGES AND THE DISTRICT'S OPTION TO USE THE TAX ROLL FOR THE COLLECTION OF SEWER SERVICE CHARGES AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF 3. DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE USE OF A THREE MONTH AVERAGE OF WINTER WATER USE IN LIEU OF THE JANUARY WATER USE FOR CALCULATING THE CONSUMPTION COMPONENT OF THE SEWER BILL AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF 4. DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO ENGAGE DAVID W. SMITH SERVICES TO ASSIST DISTRICT BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS DISTRICT STAFF AND CITY STAFF, IN IMPROVED GOVERNANCE FUNCTIONS FOR WASTEWATER UTILITY 5. DISCUSSION OF NEEDED AMENDMENTS TO THE PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT AND POSSIBLE FORMATION OF AND DIRECTION TO AD HOC COMMITTEES AND STAFF 6. PUBLIC COMMENT 7. ADJOURNMENT PUBLIC EXPRESSION (PUBLIC COMMENT FOR'ITEMS NOT,ON THE AGENDA) . The Board welcomes participation in the Board meetings. Comments shall be limited so that everyone may be heard. This item is limited to matters under the jurisdiction of the Board which are not on the posted agenda and items which have not already been considered by the Board. The Board limits testimony on matters not on the agenda to 3 minutes per person and not more than 10 minutes for a particular subject at the discretion of the Chair of the Board. No action will be taken. UKIAH VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT Item No. 2 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT JOINT MEETING BETWEEN THE DISTRICT BOARD AND THE UKIAH CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE NOTICING OF DELINQUENT SEWER SERVICES CHARGES AND THE DISTRICT'S OPTION TO USE THE TAX ROLL FOR THE COLLECTION OF SEWER SERVICE CHARGES AND POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF SUMMARY The Board desires to discuss the feasibility of providing notice to property owners who are not the sewer account holder when the sewer services charges associated with their property become delinquent and before the sewer account is closed and sent to the Sanitation District for collection. The noticing would require additional work for the billing and collection staff and, therefore, would need approval from the City Council and cooperation from City staff. The Board is open to suggestions that could facilitate the timely notice to property owners of accruing delinquent charges. The Board also desires to continue its review of the advantages and disadvantages of placing sewer service charges on the tax roll. A change in the manner in which sewer service charges are collected for the District will require a modification to the Participation Agreement. DISCUSSION At the request of the District, the collection of delinquent sewer service charges associated with closed sewer accounts are referred to the District Manager for collection and possible placement on the tax roll in accordance with the District's Ordinance No. 13 in lieu of City staff referring the delinquent and closed accounts to a collection agency. Prior to placement of delinquent charges on the tax roll, the District must hold a public hearing to afford the property owners the opportunity to object to the charges and/or to protest the placement of the charges onto the tax roll. The Board has held two public hearings and the common complaint received from property owners who are also landlords is the lack of notice provided when the sewer account associated with their property becomes delinquent. Once the District receives a delinquent report of closed accounts from the City, notices are mailed to the property owner notifying them of their responsibility for payment of the delinquent sewer service charges and, if the delinquent charges are not paid, the charges will be referred to the County Auditor for placement onto the tax roll after the required public hearings are conducted. Under the current billing and collection process, this is the first notice the property owner receives concerning delinquent charges associated with their property. The time period between the time the charges begin to become delinquent and the point at which the account is closed varies and the time period between the time the account is closed, placed on a delinquent report and transmitted to the District Manager averages between two to four months. Some of the delinquent charges are at least 6 months old. For the long term, the Board believes the use of the tax roll as the billing and collection method for the District will reduce the delinquent payment problem and it can provide an overall savings to the District in the cost of collection. In addition, the Board is confident that moving in this direction is the best option for both the City and the District for several reasons. which include the District's lack of enforcement mechanisms or alternatives, difference in state statutes that govern the government entity, and differences in City and District ordinances that determine who is the party that is ultimately responsible for the payment of delinquent sewer service charges. While the initial process of moving the billing to the tax roll will involve time and effort, the Board believes the change will provide a reliable revenue stream and it will eliminate the burden that City staff currently incurs as the District's billing and collection agent and will eliminate the effort expended by District staff in the collection process related to delinquent sewer service charges from closed accounts. At the joint meeting of April 8, 2010, the District's desire to pursue the collection of sewer service charges via the tax roll was presented for the purpose of discussing the matter in broad terms and for the purpose of providing direction to staff. The City Council did not support the concept and Councilmember Crane suggested that efforts be taken to improve the current billing and collection process. No action was taken by either body and staff have not initiated discussions on how the system could be improved. The Board recommends that both agencies direct their respective staff to meet to discuss how the billing and collection system can be improved to reduce the delinquent payment issue or that both bodies recognize that it is not in their best interests to continue the current billing and collection arrangement and that both bodies provide the following direction to their respective staff. 1. Coordinate the drafting of an amendment to the Participation Agreement for submittal to the Board and the City Council for further action 2. District staff to explore means of mitigating impacts to the District's cash flow during the transition period and report findings to the Board for further action. 3. City and District staff coordinate the drafting of a work plan for the transition and transmittal of account information to the District and submit the work plan to the Board and City Council for further action. The work plan may include the engagement of a consultant to aid in the transition. FISCAL IMPACT Providing notice to property owners who are landlords that delinquent sewer service charges associated with their property are accruing will create additional work for the billing and collection staff, amount of additional effort and cost is unknown. Use of the tax roll for the collection of the sewer service charges from District rate payers will (1) impact the Joint Sewer Fund since the District would no longer be participating in the cost for Billing and Collection, currently budgeted at $136,972 (612.3505.320.000) for FY 10/11 and of which the District pays 47.5% or $65,062 and (2) it would create a savings to the District since Section 5473.9 of the Health and Safety Code of the State of California limits the maximum collection fee for use of the the tax roll to $5.00 per each account or one (1) percent of all money collected, whichever is greater. Projected District revenue from residential and commercial accounts for FY 10/11 is $3,706,251 and a 1% fee for collection would be $37,063. The minimum monthly sewer fee for all rate payers is currently $47.18 which equates to an annual cost of $566.16; the 1% fee exceeds the maximum allowed fee of $5.00 per account. The estimated annual expense to update and submit the annual tax roll assessments to the County Auditor is between $5.000 and $10,000. Use of the tax roll will eliminate the current effort being expended by District Staff in the collection of delinquent sewer charges from closed sewer accounts. RECOMMENDED ACTION Discuss the issue and provide direction to staff ATTACHMENTS None Rick Kennedy, PE, UVSD District Manager Item No. 3 UKIAH VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT JOINT MEETING BETWEEN THE DISTRICT BOARD AND THE UKIAH CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 DISCUSSION CONCERNING THE USE OF A THREE MONTH AVERAGE OF WINTER WATER USE IN LIEU OF THE JANUARY WATER USE FOR CALCULATING THE CONSUMPTION COMPONENT OF THE SEWER BILL POSSIBLE DIRECTION TO STAFF SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION The Board and the District Manager recommend that the District and City consider the use of a three month average of winter water use for calculating the consumption component of the sewer bill in lieu of using the January water use reading. It is believed that the City Finance Director is in support of the recommendation. Use of the single month water consumption reading establishes the consumption component of the sewer bill for the entire year beginning July 1. Many rate payers are aware of this and take extreme measures to conserve water use during the month of January and the single month water use reading may not represent the actual amount of water that is directed to the sewer system per month over the 12 month period. The 2005 Rate Study prepared by Bartle Wells Associates recommended the use of a three month average of winter water use for calculating the consumption component of the sewer bill. The use of a three month average winter use for calculating the consumption component of the sewer bill will require a modification to Section 8.12.13 (2) of Ordinances 12 and 25. FISCAL IMPACT An increase in revenue from residential and commercial accounts will most likely occur. RECOMMENDED ACTION Direct the District Manager to submit for introduction a proposed ordinance modifying Section 8.12.1) (2) of District Ordinances 12 and 25. It is recommended that the City Council provide a similar direction to City Staff ATTACHMENTS None Rick Kennedy, PE, UVSD District Manager ITEM NO.: MEETING DATE: (7ity of Ukiah AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT 4 September 29, 2010 SUBJECT: DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO ENGAGE DAVID W. SMITH SERVICES TO ASSIST DISTRICT BOARD AND CITY COUNCIL, AS WELL AS DISCTRICT STAFF AND CITY STAFF, IN IMPROVED GOVERNANCE FUNCTIONS FOR WASTEWATER UTILITY Background: During the budget adoption process for the FY 2010/2011 Sewer and Wastewater Utility budget, a proposal to include funds for both reconciliation services and mediation services was discussed. The concept of using a neutral third party to assist the City of Ukiah and the Ukiah Valley Sanitation District in resolving and addressing governance and administrative issues between the two entities had been introduced during the rate study process between the two agencies. The City of Ukiah had also made a proposal to UVSD to settle certain issues through mediation, and had included funding for that process in the draft FY 2010/11 budget accordingly. The proposals behind using both reconciliation services and formal mediation services were not the subject of formal staff recommendations during the budget process, so there was no written outline of the purpose for each service to inform discussion about these items. There was, however, a collective agreement at the June budget discussions to limit the expenditure for services to $50,000 for the FY 2010/2011 fiscal year. Since the budget discussion on June 29, 2010, discussion has taken place between the City and District's Ad/Hoc committees which included obtaining a draft proposal for services from David W. Smith as an initial step in resolving outstanding issues. The referral to Mr. Smith as an experienced consultant with the knowledge and expertise to assist the City and the UVSD came from the company that completed the recent rate studies for both water and sewer utilities. Discussion: The draft scope of services provided by David W. Smith was in response to concerns and issues raised by the elected representatives in the Ad/Hoc discussions. The City Manager can be authorized to engage the facilitation services and directed to work with the Ad/Hoc committees of both groups to finalize the scope of services. The City of Ukiah will issue and administer the contract, utilizing Continued on Page 2 Recommended Action(s): The City Council direct the City Manager to work with the Ad/Hoc committees of UVSD and City of Ukiah to finalize the scope of services, 2) The City Council authorize the City Manager to sign a contract engaging the services of David W. Smith for an amount not to exceed the FY 2010/2011 appropriation of $50,000. Alternative Council Option(s): Do not engage the services and provide further direction to staff (s) Citizens advised: Requested by: Prepared by: Jane A. Chambers, City Manager Coordinated with: Doug Crane and Phil Baldwin, Councilmembers Attachments: Draft Scope of Services Approved: e~~ ye Chambers, City Manager funding provided in the FY 2010/2011 budget. The City's administration of the contract is in keeping with the administrative oversight for the joint system, and will be accomplished recognizing that both UVSD and City of Ukiah will jointly receive the services provided by the contract. Fiscal Impact: Budgeted FY 09/10 ❑ New Appropriation Fx-] Not Applicable F1 Budget Amendment Required Amount Budgeted Source of Funds (title and Account Number Addit. Appropriation Requested $50,000 612.3505.250.006 DRAFT SCOPE OF SER VICES FACILITATION OF PROCESS TO ACHIEVE GOOD GOVERNANCE GOALS BY CITY OF UKIAHAND UKIAH VALLEYSANITATION DISTRICT The Ukiah Valley Sanitation District (District) and the City of Ukiah (City) endeavor to provide good governance of their wastewater utility. To accomplish this, the City and District seek to establish a foundation of mutual respect and understanding on matters of common interest, and to resolve particular issues of concern to one or both parties to the mutual satisfaction of both parties through a constructive process. This scope of services provides facilitation of a process to achieve these good governance goals. Specifically, the David W. Smith (Consultant), shall provide the following services: • Review background documents • Collaborate with District Board and City Council representatives to establish a process in which particular issues of concern to one or both parties may be resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties. This is expected to include a series of in- person meetings establish goals, objectives, procedures, participants, public participation opportunities, schedule, roles and responsibilities. Based on this initial collaboration, Consultant shall provide a written draft Charter for consideration by Board and Council representatives. The Consultant shall prepare a Charter that is responsive to comments from Board and Council representatives. • Organize and conduct the collaborative process consistent with the Charter. This process is expected identify particular issues to be resolved, then resolve each according to an agreed upon priority. The Consultant's role in the collaborative process will be established in the Charter, and could include the following: o Organize and attend collaborative process meetings o Prepare requests for information for City staff and collaboration with City staff to obtain requested information. o Prepare written summaries of agreements between City and District representatives involved in collaborative process. o Appearance before City Council and District Board to provide information such as status reports o Retain experts as directed to undertake particular studies or render particular opinions. The goal of all parties to this Agreement is achieve the aforementioned good governance goals while minimizing Consultant time and expense. The parties recognize that this may be achieved through timely and constructive collaboration. The Consultant serves at the pleasure of the District and City and will be phased out as the collaborative process succeeds. ESTIMATED COST The following is a preliminary estimate of the labor foreseen associated with the activities described above. It is provided to facilitate a discussion about the activities. Activity Hours Comments assumes 4 hours per month Review background documents 24 for 6 months Develop Charter assumes three 4-hour meetings plus 2 hours drive Meetings 18 time per meeting 4 hours to create draft plus 2 Draft and revise Charter 6 hours response to comments Collaborative Process assumes two 4-hour meetings per month for 5 Organize and attend meeting 60 months plus drive time Prepare information requests 8 assumes 6 issues at 4 hours Written summaries of agreements 24 per issue assumes 2 joint meetings and 1 separate meeting for Appearance at City Council and District each body at 2 hours each Board meetings 16 plus drive time Retain experts as directed too early to speculate Total Hours 156 Estimated cost at $200/hr $31,200 Travel expenses (@ $0.50/mile) $1,105 UKIAH VALLEY SANITATION DISTRICT Item No. 5 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT JOINT MEETING BETWEEN THE DISTRICT BOARD AND THE UKIAH CITY COUNCIL SEPTEMBER 29, 2010 DISCUSSION OF NEEDED AMENDMENTS TO THE PATRICIPATION AGREEMENT AND POSSIBLE FORMATION OF AND DIRECTION TO AD HOC COMMITTEES AND STAFF SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION At the January 14, 2010 Joint Meeting between the District Board of Directors and the Ukiah City Council, it was agreed that the proposed recommendations of the Joint Ad Hoc Committee on Governance and other governance issues of concern that had arisen since the Joint Ad Hoc Committee was disbanded would be referred to a joint ad hoc committee venue for discussion on the how the governance for the combined sewer system could be improved and for possible recommendations to their respective governing bodies. The Board appointed Directors Paulin and Pallesen to serve on the Governance Ad Hoc Committee for the District and the City Council appointed Councilmembers Crane and Baldwin to the City's Governance Ad Hoc Committee. To date, the Governance Ad Hoc Committees have not met in joint session to discuss the governance issues as empowered and directed. Resolving the Governance issues are a priority to the Board and the Board is requesting that staff and the Governance Ad Hoc Committees set aside time to meet in joint session to discuss the governance issues for the purpose of formulating recommendations for the improvement to the governance of the combine sewer system Since the January 14th meeting, the Board modified the appointment to the District's Governance Ad Hoc Committee to include Directors Pallesen and Porter. FISCAL IMPACT The District may incur additional staff expense should the allowance of weekly hours be exceeded. RECOMMENDED ACTION The Board and City Council direct their respective staff and the Governance Ad Hoc Committees to set aside time to meet in joint session to discuss the governance issues for the purpose of formulating recommendations for the improvement to the governance of the combine sewer system ATTACHMENTS UVSD approved minutes of the Joint Meeting between the Board and City Council on January 14, 2010. Rick Kennedy, PE, UVSD District Manager