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to provide billing services and maintain capacity per ERU was reviewed, and it was concluded that the <br />combined fees adequately cover the cost of the services. Combining the two fees into one charge code <br />will simplify the bill without changing the overall cost to the customer. Second, reducing the number of <br />water volume billing blocks or usage tiers will further simplify the bill. It will also encourage conservation <br />since the highest tier will start with 10,001 gallons of usage rather than 13,001. Keep in mind that an <br />ERU is defined as 7,500 gallons per month. Therefore, a consumer does not reach the highest tier until <br />using services beyond that which their ERUs cover. Third, bill all water and wastewater volume in <br />hundreds of gallons rather than thousands. This change will benefit the customer in that their billing will <br />be more consistent from month to month. For the utility, the revenues will more closely reflect the <br />distribution and treatment levels. The table below depicts the current usage tiers with those being <br />proposed. <br />Current Usage Tiers <br />Current Cost per <br />1,000 gallons <br />Proposed usage tiers <br />Proposed cost per <br />1,000 gallons <br />0-3,000 <br />$ 2.20 <br />0-5,000 <br />$ 2.20 <br />3,001 to 7,000 <br />$ 2.42 <br />5,001-10,000 <br />$ 2.97 <br />7,001 to 13,000 <br />$ 3.85 <br />10,001 and over <br />$ 7.04 <br />13,001 and over <br />$ 7.70 <br />The typical end users bill will not change significantly as a result of these modifications. A sample bill for <br />a single-family residence using 5,000 gallons of water and wastewater service in one month will <br />decrease from $50.66 to $49.65. A commercial customer with three ERUs, using 25,000 gallons per <br />month, will increase slightly from $205.34 to $207.25. <br />Comparison of the proposed rates with neighboring utilities using the average single-family home's <br />typical monthly bill is presented below. It should be noted that, although such comparisons are typical in <br />relation to rate studies, the information is often misinterpreted. Many factors such as the size of the <br />customer base, level of treatment and disposal methods, plant age and capacities, general fund <br />transfers, and bond covenants influence rates. Commonalities of these items often do not exist amongst <br />neighboring utilities. <br />266 <br />Page 4 of 9 <br />