TITLE
Recommendation to respectfully request City Manager work with the Long Beach Water Department to begin the process of upgrading the City’s utility billing system and return to the City Council within 30 days with a plan reflecting the following:
Request the new utility billing system provide the ability to implement a tiered rate structure for conservation incentive purposes across customer types, as well as provide other needed functions not currently available with the existing system;
Request, that as part of this process, staff provide cost estimates to the City Council and identify a funding strategy that minimizes the impact on the City’s General Fund;
Request City Manager contact the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) to encourage promotion of incentives for municipalities that implement a tiered-rate system; and
Request City Manager survey municipalities and water agencies in the Southern California region to determine whether including a “lifeline” discount for elderly or disabled residents is necessary and beneficial.
DISCUSSION
In response to drought conditions, low water reserves and the interruption of the water supply from the San Francisco Bay / Sacramento Delta area, the Long Beach Water Department has called for voluntary water conservation. Long Beach residents and businesses have been asked to reduce water use by such methods as eliminating landscape over-watering, fixing water leaks, and installing low-flow water devices.
In addition to these types of measures, the City can encourage conservation through tiered rate structuring. This approach has been successful in advancing conservation in jurisdictions across the country. Currently, the City's utility billing system has some capability for tiered rates but must be upgraded to fully implement a rate structure that provides incentives for conservation for all types of customers. This includes the ability to customize water allocations by individual lot as well as individual bu...
Click here for full text