Title
Committee action on meter installation option for flat rate water customers in the Forest Lake water system.
Staff Summary
· Customers on the County's sewer and water systems are billed either on a per usage basis or a flat rate basis.
· A customer that has a water meter (approximately 20,000 customers) is charged a per use basis with usage recorded by the meter.
· Those customers in Forest Lake that do not have a water meter (65 out of 72 customers) are charged a flat rate, based on an average water use of 5,800 gallons per month.
· Flat rate customers in Forest Lake pay a total of $76.08 per month for both water and sewer ($40.40 per month for water and $35.68 per month for sewer.)
· Public Works recommends allowing flat rate water customers to install a water meter on their water systems, where applicable, to obtain actual usage and allow for more accurate usage billing.
· Public Works further recommends that no connection fee be charged for any flat rate water customers seeking to install water meters so long as they obtain the necessary Public Works permit, pay the meter cost and inspection fee, and provide plumbing modifications for installation of a meter.
· Committee discussion and direction on this item is requested.