REGULAR MEETING AGENDA

6:30 P.M.

1. ROLL CALL. Mr. Walburn called the meeting to order at 6:30 P.M., with roll call as follows: Mr. Hackworth, Mr. Walburn, Mr. Wright, and Mr. Snyder were present. Mr. Sauer was absent. Others present were: Judy Gilleland, Lynda Yartin, Ed Drobina, Linda Fersch, Bob Cramer, Sean Casey, and others.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES of February 27, 2006, Regular Meeting. Mr. Hackworth moved to approve; Mr. Wright seconded the motion. Roll call was taken with Mr. Snyder, Mr. Wright, Mr. Walburn, and Mr. Hackworth voting “Yea.” Motion passed, 4-0.

3. SCHEDULED MATTERS:

A. Review and Discussion regarding utility fee forecast. Mr. Walburn stated the Committee members had received a forecast of the rate adjustments necessary to put both the Water and Sewer utilities on a self-supporting basis over either a three or a five-year term. Mr. Walburn stated he had reviewed the document and felt it was a basic guideline and provided a place to start.

Ms Gilleland stated Mr. Cramer was present to provide a brief overview for the Committee and to answer any questions they may have. Mr. Cramer stated with information provided by Ms Fersch, Mr. Drobina, and Ms Gilleland he had prepared the forecast. Mr. Cramer stated he had included the average monthly bill for water and sewer from surrounding communities for comparison purposes. Mr. Cramer stated the City has not increased utility rates for several years because you have had capacity fees to carry you through. Mr. Cramer stated this is a two part question, first how to get the revenues up so they are self-supporting, and secondly how to control expenses. Mr. Cramer stated he would suggest that the rate increase be adopted for the full forecast period so you do not have to deal with the same issue each year.

Ms Gilleland stated we do have a Committee working on the sewer plant expansion now, and we hope to be able to have a pretty good idea in the next few months as to where we are going with the expansion and the cost of the project. Mr. Wright clarified that some capital projects that were slated for this year were taken out of the budget. Mr. Walburn further clarified that some costs are out of our control, for example, any items that are dependent upon petroleum. Mr. Drobina stated every time the cost of gas goes up, delivery charges go up, etc. Ms Gilleland stated we have already made cuts in expenditures, but there are items that we cannot control.

Mr. Cramer stated he had been asked to look at discount programs for senior citizens, and several issues, such as verifying age, residency status, etc., make a discount program very difficult to administer. He stated further, the non-senior customers would then have to make up for the short fall caused by the discount. Mr. Walburn stated rather than age, perhaps a discount based on income level could be considered, regardless of age. Ms Gilleland stated, if you discount any area, there has to be a counter balance for that. Mr. Hackworth stated low usage might also be considered, and Mr. Cramer stated you could implement any kind of discount program you decide upon. Ms Gilleland stated this is something to think about. Mr. Cramer stated during the five-year period to put you in the black, there will be periods of red ink where the revenues will not cover operation and maintenance and the debt service. He stated that is why you need to be very careful on how you manage and use the capacity fees. He continued you have balances in both water and sewer right now and they must be used very carefully.

Mr. Walburn clarified that you do not make a profit in either water or sewer. Mr. Cramer stated we can get to a black ink position more quickly in water because we have more customers, more revenue, in water. He stated we have fewer customers for sewer than for water because not everyone is on the City’s sewer system. Mr. Walburn ascertained we have approximately 260 customers on our system that are outside the City’s borders and Mr. Drobina stated we also have some resident’s in the City who are served by the County or Canal Winchester through our water and sewer agreement.

Mr. Wright stated when we get to the point of making a decision on the five or three year plan, we are going to increase the sewer and water, he did not know if we could turn around and tell the community that a certain group of people would be discounted off the bat, such as senior citizens or lower income. He stated it was his feeling, if we did the five-year plan for example, he would wait until the end of the first year before we started looking at discounts. He stated he is not against discounts, however, he felt we needed to have a little history to see how this was going to work first. Mr. Cramer stated he agreed with Mr. Wright and he thought it would be a good idea to get a little experience first. Mr. Walburn stated he was just suggesting we consider the discounts because he knew it would be brought up and he felt it was an option that needed to be looked at so when a recommendation is made, all options would have been considered. Mr. Wright stated he just wanted to make sure that whatever is done, it is done right.

Mr. Hackworth stated he would like to see the rates in dollar amounts and not in percentages. Mr. Wright stated he agreed, that to put out a percentage did not reflect how much people’s utility bills will increase and he felt people would want to know how much the increase will be. Mr. Cramer stated it is not that your rates will be to high, your problem is that your rates have been to low for the past five years. Mrs. Fersch stated again the last rate increases were in 1992 and 1993. Mr. Hackworth stated several of the surrounding communities have either raised their rates recently or are in the process of raising them. Mr. Wright stated that didn’t make it any easier for people, and Mr. Walburn stated he agreed, however, it is easier than going back every year for more money.

Mr. Walburn stated he felt the rates for commercial customers that are not in the City’s limits should be higher because we have to put in the lines, etc. Mr. Drobina stated generally the developer puts in the lines. Mr. Hackworth stated he thought there were some regulations on what you can charge for water. Ms Gilleland stated she would try to get a little more data on what sort of revenue we receive from the areas served outside the City. Mr. Walburn clarified that, for example, the City owns the lines serving Mingo Estates even though they are not in the City. Mr. Walburn stated he was referring more to commercial than residential. Ms Gilleland stated you also run the risk of disenfranchising commercial development as there may be some areas where we want to form a JEDD with the Township and use City services. Mr. Hackworth stated to build up large surpluses in these two utilities does not do us any good, we just need to have enough money to pay the bills and a little reserve. Mr. Hackworth continued it does not do the City any good to have a huge surplus. Ms Gilleland stated that was correct because the funds cannot be used elsewhere. Mr. Cramer stated if you break even plus a bit you are right where you should be.

Ms Gilleland clarified that for the next meeting the Committee would like to have a rate schedule reflecting the proposed three year and five year terms so everyone can see the actual dollar amount. Mr. Walburn stated he would like to have the Committee members review all of this information and at the next meeting come in with individual opinions on the increase, whether we should consider any discount programs, etc. Ms Gilleland stated we do need to have an engineering firm take a look at this as well. Mr. Walburn stated the next meeting will be on May 15, 2006. Mr. Cramer stated he could prepare a rate chart for the Committee.

4. OTHER BUSINESS: No other business was brought forward.

5. ADJOURNMENT: There being nothing further, Mr. Hackworth moved to adjourn; Mr. Wright seconded the motion. Mr. Walburn, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Hackworth, and Mr. Wright voted “Aye.” Motion carried, 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 7:38 P.M., April 10, 2006.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED:

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Lynda D. Yartin, Municipal Clerk