Title
Regional Utilities Committee Referral Item #050746 (NB)
The City Commission referred an item to the Regional Utilities Committee (RUC) which involved an evaluation of GRU's water and wastewater extension policy. After a series of three meetings, a conclusion was reached to retain the current policy.
Explanation
Discussion of GRU's extension policy was prompted by a request for residential wastewater service from Dr. Dale Syfert. He requested the extension policy be modified to relax the "user pay" requirement in order to reduce the cost of extending service to residents in existing developments. He also pointed out potential inequities existed because his neighbors could connect in the future without sharing in the cost of the extension. The City Commission requested a review of the extension policy and referred this issue to the Regional Utilities Committee at the January 9, 2006 City Commission meeting.
Staff made a series of three presentations to the RUC. On February 9th, Staff presented an analysis of the current policy verses alternative policies. The pros and cons of each were weighed with results favoring retention of the current extension policy. At the conclusion of the presentation, the RUC requested a survey to compare the extension policies of other utilities. Staff returned on June 8th with survey results from nine Florida utilities. Again it was concluded that all policies had "winners and losers" and that GRU's current policy would result in less customer dissatisfaction than other variations. The RUC requested a more detailed analysis of the Jacksonville Electric Authority and Winter Park policies which had allowance or rebate provisions. Staff returned on October 12th with this analysis. The RUC agreed with the conclusion that these policies also had the potential for inequities and that GRU's current "user pay" policy be retained.
Staff will continue to administer the "user pay" extension policy and support custome...
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