Boerne City Council tabled action on approving new water rates for its residential and commercial customers, after agreeing with a rate structure tilted toward heavier cost for excessive water consumption.
Sarah Buckelew, Boerne finance director, told council Nov. 12 of plans for a 3% sewer rate increase and a 7% increase in water and reclaimed water rates.
But instead of applying a straight 7% increase across the board for residential water, the city proposed a 4% increase for users consuming less than 25,000 gallons a month and 35% and 45% hikes for people using in excess of 25,000.
“After the review, we had an appetite for looking at a rate structure that had a lesser increase for low-volume users, and a higher increase on larger volume users, in order to signal conservation,” Buckelew said.
Boerne’s average user consumes 7,151 gallons per month. Up to 10,000 gallons per month is considered typical home use, while up to 25,000 gallons per month is viewed as “reasonable irrigation,” she said.
“It’s over that 25,000 mark that we consider to be the highest possibility for conservation,” Buckelew said.
In August, Boerne’s hottest month, 4,084 water customers stayed in the lowest use level of 0-6,000 gallons, she said. A total of 1,359 homes hit the 6,000-10,000-gallon threshold.
As gallon categories increase, homes in those ranges decrease. The city showed 768 users in 10,000-25,000; 217 in 25,00050,000 gallons, only 26 in the 50,000 to 100,000-gallon category, and two “super users,” consuming 100,000 gallons or more monthly.
“Once you hit that 25,000 mark it (the water rate) is a graduated increase starting at 35 percent up to 45 percent for the highest tier,” she said.
A residence using 5,000 or 13,000 gallons would only see a $2.40 or $3.65 per month increase in their bill. Bills begin to escalate for users of 25,000 gallons and up. A homeowner using 70,000 gallons a month, for instance, will see the bill jump an additional $143 per month, while the super-users exceeding 100,000 will pay $375 more a month.
Councilwoman Sharon Wright asked if the city reaches out to its higher use customers with any platform or consultation to help them reframe the way they use water.
Councilman Ty Wolosin said he knows one of the city’s larger water users and has mentioned the topic.
“It’s on autopay; he doesn’t care. I don’t think it’d matter,” Wolosin said. “I’ve talked to him about how (conservation) would be better for the city as a whole. He doesn’t care.”
Buckelew said that is why they are addressing the 200-plus users currently consuming 25,000-50,000 gallons a month.
“Our best bang for the buck will be in the over-25,000 line. If we can get 200 customers to cut back 1,000 gallons a month, that’s 200,000 gallons saved a month,” Buckelew added.
Council tabled the item in order to look deeper at commercial rates in comparison with residential, and to find ways to offer savings or discounts to commercial customers as well.
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