While an ordinance has yet to be approved, the Bellevue City Council expressed support for an ordinance that would require the installation of water meters for new construction that requires a water connection.
At their meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 13, council members discussed the proposed ordinance, which includes a fee schedule for not only connection to the water system, but also for installation of a water meter and the vault to house it.
For a three-quarter-inch water connection, the total proposed fee is $3,364, compared to $1,974 for simply the connection. Both of these fees include the cost of parts and labor to the city.
Councilwoman Tammy Eaton said she wanted the meter fees included in the ordinance, which would otherwise just include the cost adjustments in connection fees that occur approximately every two years when the fees are recalculated.
"We need to get ready for the future and get everything in place for when we switch to a metered water fee schedule," she said.
At a previous meeting in which the meters were discussed, Councilman Shaun Mahoney said metered water should help lower water consumption.
"The goal is to make conservation pay," Mahoney said, echoing the rationale Hailey used when implementing its new water fee schedule, which charges exponentially more as water consumption increases.
The council tabled the public hearing until its meeting on Monday, Dec. 3, in order to have the exact cost and details of the meters and vaults written into the ordinance. During that meeting, the council will also consider increasing the monthly water rate from $18.21 to $19.12 in accordance with the standard 5 percent annual increase.
The council will also look at adjusting sewer and water capitalization fees, which are determined by a formula that takes into account the remaining bond principal and unfunded depreciation. Public Works Administrator George Tanner said the sewer capitalization fee would decrease from $3,425 to $3,330 and the water capitalization fee would increase from $2,698 to $2,750.
