Utility Consolidation
Water ● Sewer ● Natural Gas
Consolidation Proposal
26/14/2022
If approved by voters, this proposal would:
• Establish a single City Charter article
governing water, sewer and gas
• Provide oversight by a Board of Long Beach
Utilities (currently the Board of Water
Commissioners)
Customer Benefits
3 • Improved customer service
• Reduced impacts to streets and
neighborhoods with better coordination
of utility pipeline street repairs
• Increased efficiency and reduced costs
by consolidating duplicative operations
taking advantage of economies of scale
• Increased transparency and public input
in utility budgets and rate setting
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Research
46/14/2022
• Long Beach is the only large
California city that operates its
multiple utilities separately
• Other cities achieve efficiencies
and cost savings through utilities
being within one department
• An independent feasibility study
estimated very significant cost
savings annually, benefitting both
the customers and the utilities
Overlapping Responsibilities
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Pipeline
Installation
Customer
Service Welding Conservation Engineering Call
Center
Leak
Detection
Industry
Organizations SCADA Systems Inspection
Services Accounting Executive
Administration GIS Equipment
Purchases
Electrical Personnel Construction
Crews
24/7
Dispatch
Quality
Control Payroll Purchasing
Emergency
Response
24/7
Systems Control
Meter
Installs
Utility
Rate Setting Safety Pipeline
Repair
Commodity
Procurement
Meter
Testing
Regulatory
Compliance Security Customer
Turn-Ons
Meter Reading
/AMI
Pipeline
Maintenance Training
Marketing Customer
Turn-Offs
Utility
Billing Budgeting Temporary
Paving
Legislative
Affairs
Equipment
Maintenance
Regulatory
Affairs
Accounts
Payable
Permanent
Paving
Cathodic
Protection Warehouse Planning Fleet
Services
Frequently Asked Questions
6 What is driving this consolidation effort?
• Efforts to continuously improve customer service to ratepayers is driving this consolidation effort.
• The proposed consolidation is intended to provide all three public utilities with greater operational flexibility to improve customer service, operational efficiencies, and achieve additional cost savings.
6/14/2022
Frequently Asked Questions
76/14/2022
What can customers expect to see?
• Continued commitment to maintain affordable utility rates • Coordinated planning of underground pipeline work followed by quality street paving to minimize impacts to local streets • A single point of contact to address customers' Long Beach public utility questions for water, gas, sewer
Frequently Asked Questions
8 How will cost savings be used?
• The benefits of cost savings will accrue to Long Beach customers • The Board, with public input, will incorporate those savings into budget and rate setting priorities, including:
oSetting low rates to ensure water affordability for all income levels of rate payers
oInvestment into water quality improvements and ongoing reinvestment into pipeline infrastructure for water, gas, sewer oEnsuring reliability, sustainability, and resiliency in water supply availability
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Charter Amendment Timeline
9 Action Deadlines (2022)
City Council refers item to Charter Amendment Committee May 23 Public notice of first Charter Amendment Committee meeting May 24 First Public Hearing June 14
Public notice of second Charter Amendment Committee meeting June 28 Second Public Hearing July 19
City Council consideration of Charter Amendments for Nov 2022 ballot August 9 Election Date November 8
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Working Together
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