2013-23 AMENDING CITY CODE - CHAPTER 65 - WATER MAIN CONNECTION CHARGES

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Table 1 Water Main Connection Charges established by Chapter 65 of the Decatur City Code Construction Date Connectionj Fee per Lineal Foot of Frontage Before August 31, 1976 $5.00 Between August 31, 1976 and June 30, 1986 $7.5� After June 30, 1986 $11.90 Connection Fees based on Frontage Foot: The underlying principle for the water main connection charge is to recover the costs of water main construction to those enefitting from the water main extension. A public water main is generally found in the public r ht of way and can be tapped by properties on both sides of the street. A fundamental way to rec over the construction cost is to charge the customer their proportional share of the im ovements that are uniquely attributable to the customer, which is the lineal frontage their prope y has to the water main. The City of Decatur currently charges per linear foot of lot frontage. As a result, the charges to connect to the water main are not uniform and can be difficult to calculate fort odd shaped lots. City staff evaluated the actual cost of water main construction within the dec de of 2000 to 2010. The approximate cost was $67.95 per lineal foot of water main constructed. ssuming that the water main serves both sides of a street,the cost would be $33.97 per lineal foot. This should be the rate charged per frontage foot in order to recover the cost to construct water mains. A review of connection fees for recent years indicates the average connection fees are approximately $1,320. Staff surveyed several Illinois cities to determine the connection charge for atypical 1" " service tap. See Table 2 in Attachment 1. Connection Fees based on Meter Size: Several communities throughout th state utilize a connection fee based on meter size. The thought behind an increase with meter size is that those customers who choose to install a larger meter, have a much greater potential to utilize and influence the City's resources and infrastructure. Decatur's water main connection fee does not vary with the size of the connection. A survey of other cities indicates several cities charge significantly more for larger service taps. A summary of the survey is presen ed in Table 3. Proposed Connection Fee Rationale: To determine a proposed rate, Staff ed the rate on what an average lot, with a frontage of 110 feet, would pay at the recovery t of$33.97 per foot of water main as found in item 2 above. This results in a rate of$3,737 per 1" meter tap. Staff is proposing straight line proportionality for the size of the meter to thencrease of the connection charge which would be $3,500 per inch of meter size. A one incl residential, connection charge would be$3,500. A 1.5 inch meter would have a connection charge of Page 2