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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10/30/1990UTILITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE Port Angeles, Washington October 30, 1990 Call to Order Chairman Hallett called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. II. Roll Call Members Present: Jim Hallett, Jerry Cornell for Mike Lemon, Dick Wight, Jeff Rosbach, Thomas Hunt Staff Present: J. Pomeranz, B. Titus, G. Leaf, Y. Ziomkowski, J. Pittis, C. Knutson, K. Ridout III. Approval of Minutes of August 28, 1990, Meeting The minutes were approved as written. IV. Discussion Items 1. Discussion on 6% Utility Tax vs. 5% In-lieu-of Tax Staff discussed the need for additional revenues found in the 1991-92 proposed budget and how a utility tax would be one way of raising additional revenues for the general fund. It was pointed out that the current in-lieu-of tax rate was one of the lowest in the State compared to comparably sized cities. It was also pointed out that the various utilities doing business in the city were not all paying taxes based on the same rate. A new utility tax was being proposed because the BPA power sales contract prohibits in-lieu-of taxes greater than 5%. If the City wishes to increase taxes on operating revenues derived by utilities it would need to rescind the in-lieu-of tax and adopt a utility tax. It was pointed out that the majority of cities have done just that. The UAC voted to go on record as supporting the taxing change if the budget adopted by the City Council shows a need for the additional general fund revenues. This change would apply to the three City utilities as well as PUD customers inside the City. Telephone and cable tv rates would remain at their current levels for now but would be looked at in the future to standardize at 6%. 2. Discussion of Concerns Expressed by Churches Staff discussed concerns expressed by several churches in town with regard to the impact of demand charges in the new electrical rates. The UAC was briefed on how demand worked and were provided with an example of how the old rates fell short of recovering the cost of service to the majority of churches. Special time-of-day meters were suggested as a possible way to more accurately measure the billing demand that should be applied to the churches. The UAC agreed that every effort should be made to ensure that the churches were being treated fairly but felt that they should not be given special consideration. The general feeling was that City Light staff should work with the churches to insure that they were using power as efficiently as possible so as to keep their costs down. The City Light Director was directed to contact all customers on the General Service Demand rate schedule. An offer to provide a special time-of-day meter to any customer whose demand was highest on Sundays or from 10:00 pm to 7:00 am for $5 per month was to be made. If an interest was expressed by any customers to install a time-of-day meter, the rate schedule would need to go back to the City Council. Late Items/Member Discussion There were no late items. VI. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:56 p.m.