Honorable Council:
Regarding Agenda item 6.2, I would respectfully request the Council consider:
First, the authority to change rates does not specify frequency. It appears from this delegation the Town Manager will have the capacity to change rates as frequently as monthly. As a rate payer I suggest “as needed” should be defined. Since the matter is defined as being directly related to the condition of deficit or surplus, an annual adjustment, but not more frequently than bi-annual, should still meet the fiscal requirements for making rate changes. I understand it could be a cycle different than the budget process.
Second, I suggest an additional notice to rate payers in the billing statement at least at the time of the rate change. The Resolution leads me to believe the Town Manager will adjust the rate and then notify rate payers (Section 2(b)) through the “normal” noticing methods. This may leave the rate payer to chase the information about the rate every month and the Town will have satisfied the noticing requirement by posting the information on the AVCE website which is a separate information stream from a household’s management of their utilities.
Finally, the authority of the Town Manager to make “certain ‘minor’ adjustments” is vague with reference to “minor,” however limited by the Resolution’s use of “reasonably determined” (Section 2(a)) and additionally limited by the metrics described in Section 2(c). The use of the term “minor” is, of course, relative to whoever is affected by the rate change.
Thank you for receiving this comment.
Jean Bracy