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Departmental Item <br />Indian River County, Florida <br />Department of Utility Services <br />Board Memorandum <br />Date: October 28, 2021 <br />To: Jason E. Brown, County Administrator <br />From: Matthew Jordan, Interim Director of Utility Services <br />Prepared by: Cindy Corrente, Utilities Finance Manager <br />Subject: Resolution to Adopt Water, Sever, and Reclaimed Rates, Fees, and Other Charges <br />Background: <br />On September 22, 2021, the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) of Indian River County (IRC) adopted <br />the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021/22 budget. Included in the IRC Department of Utility Services' (IRCDUS) budget <br />was a rate increase, based upon the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all Urban Consumers, as was <br />recommended in the 2018 Comprehensive Utility Rate Study (Study) that was performed by Raftellis <br />Financial Consultants, Inc. <br />Analysis: <br />The pertinent CPI is 4.2%. However, the 2018 study recommended capping the rate increase at the <br />lesser of either the CPI or 3%. Therefore, a 3% rate will be applied to all IRCDUS rates except the utility <br />deposits, water and sewer service connections fees, and meter installation fees. The current deposit of <br />$50.00 per equivalent residential unit (ERU) is sufficient and applying the 3% to it is impractical for day- <br />to-day business purposes. leaving the deposit at $50.00 allows for ease of computation by utility staff <br />and customers, and remains sufficient to cover each ERU. The other three items are delineated in <br />County Code as requiring public hearing before they can be modified. Staff does not recommend <br />changing these items. <br />Since the bills produced in October will reflect usage for both September and October, staff <br />recommends the effective date for the rate increase to be immediate so that the first bills mailed in <br />November will create the new rates. This proposal allows for all usage prior to the new fiscal year to be <br />billed at the current rates. Bills dated in November, and thereafter, will reflect usage that is entirely in <br />the new fiscal year. Thus, it seems logical to enact the rate change at that time. <br />Recommendation: <br />Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners vote to approve the resolution as drafted, <br />thereby adopting the utility rate increase to go into effect immediately. <br />124 <br />Page 1 of 2 <br />