A utility rate study conducted in the spring of 2015 by the League of Oregon Cities reflects that The Dalles has a higher residential water base rate than average but a lower sewer rate.
The Dalles was also noted to have more infrastructure — 104 miles of main lines — to maintain than other cities with similar populations.
Mayor Steve Lawrence said it was difficult to determine exactly where The Dalles ranks when the rate comparison involved communities with a 5,000 gallon per month base water rate while The Dalles offers 10,000 gallons.
“It’s very hard to compare systems if you don’t know the history of improvements, how old a city’s system is, how much capital they have to invest and the type of water system,” said Lawrence. “We just wanted to find out if we were in the ball park for the region.”
The Dalles currently has 4,850 water connections out of a population of about 14,400 within the city limits.
Daniel Hunter, the city’s administrative fellow, reported at the June 22 council meeting that, at 13,000 gallons usage (the average summer volume), The Dalles’ rate is $60.34, about $2 below LOC’s listed average of other cities.
The LOC report showed that water rates in The Dalles were $23.30 above average at 5,000 gallons and $4.30 above average at 10,000 gallons.
The city’s residential customers pay the same rate of $55.30 for up to 10,000 gallons of water.
Once a customer uses more than that, the rate goes up by $1.68 for every 1,000 gallons.
Other municipalities were shown to have a progressive rate scale on volumes that range from 2,224 to 20,000 gallons per month.
They also had a different base quantity, such as cubic feet instead of gallons.
For example, Lebanon charges customers $4.52 for every 100 cubic feet of water, plus a base fee of $19.46 per month.
A customer in Lebanon with the same water usage as The Dalles would pay $51.10 in November and $98.01 in July, a difference of 91.8 percent.
The LOC study listed the average water rate for cities with populations under 50,000 at $40 per month. Last year, local city officials fielded criticism from numerous residents after a City of Hermiston rate analysis showed The Dalles had the highest water and sewer rates among five Eastern Oregon cities of comparable size.
The Dalles was shown in the Hermiston report as having a rate almost $37 higher per month than the next highest city. And that did not factor in the annual rate increases that are slated to be enacted through 2020.
As far as sewer rates, The Dalles’ charge of $46.43 per month for residential customers within the city limits is below the average of other cities, according to the LOC survey.
Wastewater infrastructure is also above average – 94 miles of main line and eight pump stations — for cities with 25,000 and fewer populations.
Lawrence wants to see a review of sewer rates for commercial customers.
He said the city currently charges restaurants per chair regardless of how many hours they operate, which he believes is unfair.
Hunter reported June 22 that the LOC survey did not provide detailed information about how other cities operate their utility systems.
He said there is a large cost differential between ground water and surface water delivery systems.
He also said numerous cities did not participate in the survey and he was unsure what effect that had on results.
Among the non-participants were: Hermiston, Umatilla, Prineville Ontario and La Grande.
Hunter said a re-examination of the LOC statistics using a base rate comparison and a 2011 study done by city staff showed many cities, such as Lebanon and St. Helens, had considerably higher summer rates than The Dalles.
The staff study included cities with a wide range of populations, from 5,000 to 25,000 citizens, in order to broaden the view of how other cities operate.
Hunter said the staff numbers reflected the city’s rate roll-back of November 2014.
The LOC had used the old rate of $57.94 instead of the $55.30 monthly base rate.
In The Dalles, Hunter said more than half the annual usage of water, which was reported at 450 million gallons in 2011, takes place between June and September.
He said utility rates in The Dalles have increased in recent years to pay for needed upgrades and maintenance, as well as to save for the future.
The city currently banks one-third of rate revenue in the capital improvement plan, with 16 percent going into the water fund and 12.4 percent into the sewer fund. The other revenue is used to meet operational needs and administrative overhead.
For 12 years, from 1994 to 2006, water rates did not increase and no funds were designated for infrastructure upgrades, which officials say put the city behind in its maintenance program.
In 2011, the council enacted a series of water rate increases through 2020 to raise $22 million for capital improvement projects.
“We’ve been trying to play catch up,” said Lawrence.
The scheduled rate increase of 10 percent for 2014-15 was reduced to 5 percent last fall when Dave Anderson, director of public works, said that revenue from water usage was up more than expected.
Another 5 percent increase will take place Nov. 1 unless city officials decide otherwise after hearing Anderson’s September report. A sewer rate increase of 3.44 percent is due in January and each year until 2022.
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