Utility Rates Study Services

The vendor is required to provide to conduct a comprehensive cost of service, fee and rate study for the city’s sanitary sewer and storm drainage utilities.
- Recommendations to update the sanitary sewer rate schedule and tap fees (both in and out of city limits) and for storm drainage (in city), potential development impact fees for both, and recommendations for efficient utility billing.
- Data collection and analysis:
• Historical customer billing records
• Historical financial data, budgets, and capital improvement programs
• Projected financial data, budgets, and capital improvement programs
• Wastewater flow information where available
• GIS database of sanitary sewer and storm systems, land use, property age, etc. (in city)
• Sanitary sewer billing areas (outside city)
• Past sewer or storm rate studies
• Master planning information for sanitary sewer and storm (2024)
• Future growth projections
• County renew master plan
• Existing connector district agreements
• County renew joint operations agreement
• County renew industrial users surcharge analysis
- Financial analysis
• Historical operating expenses for both sanitary sewer and storm drainage systems, and the city’s portion of county renew operation
• Capital improvement needs and funds to support those needs
• Population growth projections both in and out of city limits
• Historic demand by customer class, both in and out of city limits
• Financial condition of both enterprises
• Impact of peak demands on the cost of service
• Debt service requirements
• Operating fund reserves
- Rate and fee study
• Assessment of the equity of recommended rates for all types of customers, including residential single family, residential multi-family, accessory dwelling units, commercial, institutional, industrial and vacant land 
• Assessment of potential service and system charges that are not currently part of the rate structure
• Comparison of current system costs against appropriate industry benchmarks for level of service
- Billing procedures recommendation
• The consultant shall provide recommendations on frequency, methodology, and systems for billing, including potential partners or outsourcing.
• The consultant shall recommend methods for communicating utility costs, including utility bill layout and how it might be used to identify actual costs of providing utility services under the recommended rate structure.
• The consultant shall provide associated costs for internal processing with current software versus outsourcing of billing services.
- Contract Period/Term: 1 year
- Pre-Proposal Meeting Date: July 15, 2025
- Questions/Inquires Deadline: July 16, 2025