Notes for the Work Session - 2-2-24

______________________________________________________________________________ CITY OF TIFFIN CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL – NOTES FOR WORK SESSION ITEMS February 2, 2024 • Katie Reierson and Lexi Luneckas will be at the work session to review with the council the revised City slogan options and begin the kick-off of the City logo design process. Included in the packet is the updated PowerPoint presentation. • The next two items on the work session agenda deal with some potential water ordinance changes. In September of 2021, the City increased the deposit requirements to try and have that amount at least cover what is a typical final bill for residents who move away from Tiffin and discontinue service. A lot of times a forwarding address is not given to use and that increase in the deposit amount has helped that situation. Similar to the deposit situation, currently a delinquent utility bill receives a 5% penalty and a possible $25.00 disconnect fee (if it gets that far). This rate has been in effect since 2007 and unfortunately, does not currently cover the City’s costs. Attached is a comparison of what other communities charge for late fees and what the City’s cost is to process a delinquent bill minus staff time and equipment costs (truck and fuel for a disconnection). The staff’s recommendation is to slightly raise the late fee from 5% to 10% and to increase the disconnect fee from $25.00 to $35.00. • The single-purpose or irrigation meters is something that has briefly been discussed before. This ordinance has been in effect since 2014 and was supposed to be a ‘rental’ program to where the resident seasonally had possession of the water meter, turned it back into the City at the end of the season and was not charged sewer for the usage. When water meters were less than $200, the City could at least break even on that service. Now that meters are over $400, this is no longer cost-effective for the City. Several cities have eliminated this service and instead have gone to a one-time sod or sewer credit for new residential properties. This would be accomplished by an application that would be processed similarly to a building permit. Residents with existing irrigation meters would be grandfathered. Attached is an example of what the application process would look like. • Time permitting, I will update the FY 2024-2025 budget based on the review from the special council meeting this past Tuesday night. If we run out of time in the work session, I may use time during my report for the review.