Rates and Prices for Public Services: Application – Governing Board Primer on Setting Water Rates.
Length: 2-3 Pages, single spaced
The subject of your staff report: Local municipal governing boards have to set or update fees for services, but individual board members rarely know the original rationale for the fees their organization uses, nor do they have time to research the subject and understand its many nuances. You are an analyst working for the city manager of the City of Difficult, New York. The manager and board have agreed that they need to examine water rates and probably revise them, so they more fully cover the costs of providing water services. The manager has tasked you with providing a 2–3-page primer/summary on important concepts and useful background materials for board members. The report should provide material to guide them as they consider the task of reviewing and considering revision of water rates.
Local law governing the current fee structure lacks any background on why the current fees were structured the way they were. The city clerk has been assigned the task of researching city records to identify explicit or implied reasons for the current rate structure. He will provide a companion summary for the manager and board to review.
Setting fees shows up in various forms in different public services for both administrative and direct services.
See Michel chapter 7 For local governments, water rates can be complex because of the mix of public goals involved. The structure of rates influences citizen behaviors and has a variety of impacts on fairness and equity across different service users and user groups. Goals include: (1) pricing the service to cover operating costs and long-term capital needs, (2) treating different user groups appropriately, and (3) meeting local or regional water use conservation goals (include relevant/related performance information or tracking). Pricing for users outside the municipality is also a concern.
Assignment9ShortReportonWaterRates5-4-2023.docx
Assignment 9: Short Report on Water Rate Setting
Rates and Prices for Public Services: Application – Governing Board Primer on Setting Water Rates.
Length: 2-3 Pages, single spaced
The subject of your staff report: Local municipal governing boards have to set or update fees for services, but individual board members rarely know the original rational for the fees their organization uses, nor do they have time to research the subject and understand its many nuances. You are an analyst working for the city manager of the City of Difficult, New York. The manager and board have agreed that they need to examine water rates and probably revise them, so they more fully cover the costs of providing water services. The manager has tasked you with providing a 2–3-page primer/summary on important concepts and useful background materials for board members. The report should provide material to guide them as they consider the task of reviewing and considering revision of water rates.
Local law governing the current fee structure lack any background on why the current fees were structured the way they were. The city clerk has been assigned the task of researching city records to identify explicit or implied reasons for the current rate structure. He will provide a companion summary for the manager and board to review.
Setting fees and charges shows up in various forms in different public services for both administrative and direct services.
See Michel chapter 7 For local governments, water rates can be complex because of the mix of public goals involved. Structure of rates influences citizen behaviors and has a variety of impacts on fairness and equity across different service users and user groups. Goals include: (1) pricing the service to cover operating costs and long-term capital needs, (2) treating different user groups appropriately, and (3) meeting local or regional water use conservation goals (include relevant/related performance information or tracking). Pricing for users outside the municipality is also a concern.
Components of Water Rate Primer
1. Provide a title, date, and author (No cover page).
2. Introduction/Executive Summary– This section should provide a summary of the purpose of the report and highlight key sections and points. , (keep this section to a couple of paragraphs).
3. Purpose of the Fee. Sorting out the purpose(s) that will guide water fees is important. Use the information in Michel, chapter 7 Setting Fees and Charges (, pages 95-98.) along with other available resources to summarize the potential mix of goals that they may want to consider in their deliberations.
4. Rate Examples from Other Communities and States. Uses the resources provided and others that you may find to provide examples of rates and rate structures from other communities.
5. Valuable Resources. Note any available online or other resources that may be of particular value to the manager and governing board members. This could include state laws, regulations or guidance that restrict or inform water rate setting. Key people that appear knowledgeable might also be valuable to include here.
6. Summary. Briefly review key points that you have made in the primer
7. References. Provide a list of resources that you have used in the primer or that you believe would be valuable as a reference for the manager and governing board members.
Grading
· Your writing should be clear and direct. When possible, use subheadings and paragraph headings to clarify subjects or themes in your writing. Use numbered or bulleted lists when they are valuable.
· The format and presentation of the primer should reflect the concepts about writing short reports and memos discussed in week 11 and 12 and readings in Pennock. Following the general pattern or format of one of the examples that are recommended is acceptable but not required.
· You are expected to use one or more “images” (a table, graph, figure, etc.) that supports or highlights your written discussion.
· The assignment has one required interim product – a sentence outline of your report – which is due at the end of week 12 and the final draft of the short report which is due in week 13.
Potential Readings and Resources on rates for water services.
1. Michel, chapter 7 Setting Fees and Charges ( pages 95-98 and following)
2. Ammons, David N. 2012. Chapter 33 Water and Sewer Services, in Municipal Benchmarks: Assessing Local Performance and Establishing Community Standards. Third Edition. New York: Routledge. 453-479. (Chapters available online for download, print in PDF -Brockport Library).
3. EPA Environmental Finance Centers: The United States Environmental Protection Agency has funded a number of Environmental Finance Centers that provide a variety of resources for local governments that have public water systems they are listed here. Some of the resources of these centers for local structuring of water rates are listed below.
a. North Carolina Water and Wastewater Rate Information. See in particular their water rate dashboard and tables of rate data (this is more than data and provides both insight about rates and valuable graphics). More on rates from North Carolina.
b. Wichita State University – Community Sustainability Tools. This source provides links to a number of “Resources for Understanding and Assessing Affordability and Equity Issues.”
c. Arizona Water and Wastewater Rate Information. And an Arizona Dashboard tool for water and wastewater rates is here.
d. EPA has a list of Financial Technical Assistance and Tools for Water Infrastructure here.
4. You can look for local rate information on other municipalities in New York State. Here are two examples.
a. City of Geneva, New York 2022 adopted municipal general, water and … City of Geneva. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://cityofgenevany.com/DocumentCenter/View/630/City-of-Geneva-New-York-2022-Adopted-Municipal-General-Water-and-Sewer–Budgets?bidId=
b. Water Rates – Jamestown Board of Public Utilities. Jamestown BPU, NY. (n.d.). Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://www.jamestownbpu.com/157/Water#:~:text=A%20Billing%20Unit%20is%20defined,748%20US%20gallons%20of%20water.
5. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). EPA – Understanding Your Water Bill. EPA. Retrieved May 2, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/watersense/understanding-your-water-bill
6. North Dakota Small Community Water System’s handbook on. State of Indiana. (n.d.). Retrieved May 3, 2022, from https://www.in.gov/idem/cleanwater/files/rwsd_guide_measuring_nd_set_water_rates.pdf
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