Explanation
This ordinance authorizes an increase in sewer rates effective January 1, 2016 for the Division of Sewerage and Drainage and to amend Chapter 1147 of the Columbus City Codes, 1959.
The proposed rate configuration for 2016 recognizes that water and sewer charges disproportionately affect lower income groups. The Department of Public Utilities will continue the Low Income Discount Program that discounts participant's sewer commodity portion of their sewer bill by 20%.
Requested adjustments in rates result in a typical inside city residential sanitary sewer rate increase of 3%. When a water increase of 4% and a 1% increase in stormwater rates is considered, the overall impact on a typical residential customer in the City of Columbus is 3.31%, and for a typical outside city residential customer, 3.49%. Outside city customers are not charged stormwater fees.
In 2005, in accordance with Ordinance No.1904-2005, passed November 28, 2005, Council created a Clean River Fee to recover costs of construction of projects necessary to meet the requirements of the two consent orders that mandate elimination of wet weather flow from Combined Sewer Overflows and Sanitary Sewer Overflows. This charge was assessed based on each property's measured impervious surface area. Since 2005, Council has approved across-the-board rate increases, including the Clean River Fee. The Department of Public Utilities, with approval of the Sewer and Water Advisory Board (SWAB), recommends that the Clean River Fee again be increased with an across-the-board rate increase of 3% to continue to allow wet weather construction projects to be paid for by a blend of the Clean River Fee and Commodity Charges.
The proposed rate structure is necessary to continue to address projects related to the two (2) consent orders entered into in 2002 and 2004 mandating the City of Columbus to mitigate wet weather flow from Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO) and Sanitary Sewer Overflows (SSO) and other op...
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