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Elk River <br /> Municipal Utilities ' UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING <br /> TO: FROM: <br /> ERMU Commission Troy Adams, P.E.—General Manager <br /> MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER: <br /> October 9, 2018 5.3 <br /> SUBJECT: <br /> 2019 Utilities Fee Schedule <br /> ACTION REQUESTED: <br /> Discussion on 2019 Utilities Fee Schedule <br /> BACKGROUND: <br /> Annually ERMU staff reviews its fees for the upcoming year to make sure they are fair, <br /> reasonable, and proportionate to the actual cost of the service for which the fee is imposed. The <br /> addition of any new fees is also considered at this time. <br /> DISCUSSION: <br /> The 2019 proposed utilities fee schedule will be presented at the November 13 Commission <br /> meeting. Staff is considering the addition of two new fees and would like discussion on the <br /> following: <br /> Opt-Out Fee <br /> ERMU has been approached by a customer that would like to opt-out of the automated <br /> meter reading(AMR)process we currently offer. Presently we do not have an opt-out <br /> option for our customers. There are a few different options we can consider. Staff is <br /> interested in talking through the pros and cons of each of the options and getting <br /> Commission direction before proceeding forward. <br /> • Continue to not offer an opt-out option <br /> • Offer an option to opt-out where the customer covers all costs associated with <br /> meter change out and manual meter reads <br /> • Offer an option to opt-out where the customer covers some of the costs associated <br /> with meter change out and manual meter reads <br /> • Offer an option to opt-out where ERMU covers all costs <br /> Residential Application Fee <br /> Staff is also considering implementation of a residential application fee as customers are <br /> often moving from apartment to apartment and ERMU incurs costs for credit checks, meter <br /> reading, account setup, etc. ERMU currently has an application fee only for our commercial <br /> customers. This was implemented as a way to recover costs associated with the application <br /> process when it was redesigned a few years ago. This is a standard practice amongst utilities <br /> and staff would like discussion with the commission and feedback on whether they are <br /> Page 1 of 2 <br /> 60 <br />