4.8. SR 11-18-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Container Size Cost 32-gallon biweekly 32- gallon weekly 60- gallon ~veekly 90- gallon weekly Two 90- gallon weekly $9.60 $11.25 $12.75 $14.25 $24.25 Outside of this enterprise fund budget there are two recycling programs that staff would like the City Council to consider. The first program is a recycling rebate program. The second program is a compost container give-away program. The intent of both of these programs is to reduce the amount of garbage going into the waste stream. This will keep the total city garbage bill down, as the total tonnage disposed of at the RDF Plant will hopefully be lower. Reducing the garbage in the waste stream and keeping the city fee down at the RDF Plant will in turn keep the residential garbage rates low. Environmental Technician Rebecca Haug will be in attendance to present information on these two programs. Wastewater Treatment System (WWTS) For the f~rst time on a number of years, the WWTS budget shows expenditures exceeding revenues. Hopefully the revenue projections are consercative but at this time the draft budget shows a small deficit and the need to use reserves to balance the budget. The main reason for this budget condition is the large amount of capital ouday that is being proposed. The biggest capital outlay item is the jet/vacuum truck. Please see the attached memo from Gary Leirmoe regarding this $250,000 purchase. If included in the approved budget, Gary will be back to the City Council in January with a recommendation on which truck to purchase. There are no major changes proposed or planned with the operation of the WWTS. Over the few years we are seeing the department spend a little more than usual on equipment items and this is due to the age of our existing equipment and more demand for dependable services. Additionally, at some time in the near future we will see the need to add another employee to the department but this may be a year or more a~vay. As noted last year the sewer availability charge (SAC) has not increase since 1987 and this fee is still at the $1,300 per unit amount. In the late 1980's the city had the highest SAC rate in the area but at this time we are substantially below our neighboring communities that have freestanding wastewater treatment facilities. An increase in the SAC rates is appropriate but there is nothing too scientific about establishing the proposed new rate. It is suggested that the city increase its SAC fee to $1,500 per unit. The purpose of this SAC fee is to fund the wastewater treatment plant infrastructure. The city recently has undergone a plant upgrade and still has about a $3 mill/on debt to pay off. Additionally, within a fe~v years another $600,000 or so will be needed for equipment to expand the plant capacity from 1.6 million gallons per day (MGD) to 2 mgd. Finally, it is conceivable that the plant could expand to 3 million mgd at some time in the future depending on growth demands and the desire of the City Council.