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Home My WebLink About01-50 Resolution No . 01-50 RESOLUTION ADOPTING A WATER SERVICE AND CONSUMPTION CREDITS POLICY BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS, that it hereby adopts a Water Service and Consumption Credits Policy dated February 2001 as the City of Elgin' s policy for extending water service credits and water consumption credits, a copy of which is attached. s/ Ed Schock Ed Schock, Mayor Presented: February 28 , 2001 Adopted: February 28 , 2001 Omnibus Vote : Yeas : 7 Nays : 0 Attest : s/ Dolonna Mecum Dolonna Mecum, City Clerk • City of Elgin Water Service and Consumption Credits Policy The water customer credits below have been established to assure that quality service is provided and the expectations ofresidents and the businesses ofElgin are satisfied. Two types of credits have been established: a service credit and a consumption credit. The service credit is associated with the reasonable expectations of the customer to receive accurate,courteous and professional service. The consumption credit may be the result of recorded consumption inconsistencies. A thorough investigation of the water customer's history shall be made before any credit is authorized. All credits will be issued as credits to the customer's account and consumption credits are issued on a one-time basis. Additionally,the water service credits and water consumption credits presented below are listed by way of example. The Water Director or Fiscal Services Manager may also authorize other water service credits or water consumption credits in an amount not to exceed 50%of the bill in question (not withstanding examples below) when in the opinion of the Water Director or Fiscal Services Manager such a credit is appropriate as a remedy to address unsatisfactory service provided by the City regarding the furnishing of water service to a particular customer. Service Credits, examples of, but not limited to the following: A customer service credit in the amount of$50 may be provided for the following issues: 1) A service appointment missed by the City that is rescheduled for another day. 2) An AMR water meter installation which interrupts the customer's phone service and is not corrected until the next day. 3) Bank draft error by the City ($50 or customer bank charge fees - whichever is greater). 4) An improper water service shut-offby the City(e.g. the wrong address is shut-off or the account is current). • Consumption Credits, examples of,but not limited to the following: 1) Lagging Remote Adjustment: When the outside remote register (used for billing) reads less consumption than the actual water meter, a lagging remote condition exists. 2) One-Time Spike in Water Consumption: Infrequently, the water meter may record a one-time increase (spike) in customer consumption. February `01 • 3) AMR Water Meter Correlation Error: This condition occurs when the AMR electronic read does not equal the reading of the mechanical register on the AMR meter. 4) Leak Notification:On rare occasions, a customer may not receive timely notification of possible leak conditions. Please see Appendix if additional information is desired on any of the above consumption credits. In closing, the types of service and consumption credits listed above are examples of what may occur. However,there may be other circumstances under which credits may be issued. The purpose of this program is to empower City Staff to meet the customer service expectations as set forth by the City Council. February `01 • APPENDIX Lagging Remote Adjustment: When the outside remote register (used for billing) reads less consumption than the actual water meter, a lagging remote condition exists. The customer is billed for the higher consumption recorded on the actual inside water meter whether or not the bi-annual inspection required by ordinance has been performed. A lagging remote consumption credit may be issued if the bi-annual inspection has not been completed. The customer shall only be responsible for the unpaid average bi-annual consumption. Example:The outside register is recording 85 HCFT units less than the actual water meter, which represents a$352 increase to the customer's water bill. The average actual biannual water use of the customer is 250 HCFT (current actual read minus the last actual inside meter read recorded). Over the past two years, the customer has paid for 225 HCFT units of water. Therefore, the customer pays for 25 HCFT of water to reach the biannual average (250 HCFT) and a credit is issued for the remaining 60 HCFT ($249). Note:The remote register is no longer used for billing purposes,actual inside reads are required. Therefore,as inside reads are obtained and AMR meters installed,the lagging remote issue will be phased out. One-Time Spike in Water Consumption: Infrequently, the water meter may record a one-time increase (spike) in customer consumption. When consumption before(previous 2 years)and after (following two billing periods) the spike period are normal and the customer insists there were no leaks or extra consumption' (gardens, new sod, etc.) a one-time consumption credit may be authorized. A consumption credit of 50%of the bill(less the average bill) to a maximum of$100, but not less than$25 may be issued. AMR Water Meter Correlation Error:This condition occurs when the AMR electronic read does not equal the reading of the mechanical register on the AMR meter. The correlation error can produce a high or low bill for the customer. Large differences may be detected within one or two billing periods. However, it may be several years before the error is discovered if the consumption difference is close to the customer's normal consumption.When this condition exists,a consumption credit equal to 50% of the bill up to a maximum of$250, but not less than$25 may be authorized. Leak Notification:On rare occasions,a customer may not receive timely notification ofpossible leak conditions. If the investigation reveals that the city should have responded sooner,depending upon the customer's responsibilities to also act, a consumption credit up to 50% of the bill in question (less than the average bill)may be authorized. February`01 ;.s.4 OF E4c. City of Elgin Agenda Item No 4'47,6 f0' Eit February 8 , 2001 1111 aft aft �I P� N tiai i16� 1 Eat �� lot!' E1 11111 I i,Ebi TO Mayor and Members of the City Council " i 11$ /'� FINA NCCAL Ur'STABLE CITY GOVERNMENT C FROM: Joyce A. Parker, City Manager EFFICIENTERV4:ES. AND QUALIT Y INFRASTRUC T U N E SUBJECT : Customer Service Credits PURPOSE The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Mayor and members of the City Council with information to consider enhancing our customer service initiatives through the issuance of customer service credits . BACKGROUND The City has over 26, 000 water customers that we primarily bill on a bi-monthly basis, producing over 160, 000 bills annually. Additionally, there are over 10, 000 water customer contacts each year that require a Water Department employee to be dispatched to further investigate or follow through on a customer request (i . e. meter read, check for leaks, exchange meters, etc . ) . On occasion, there are unusual or extraordinary instances when dealing with a customer a credit to their bill would be in order . Currently, however, the only remedy that can be provided to a customer is the leak adjustment . For example, 1) if a service appointment is missed or delayed to the next day; 2) a customer' s phone service is disrupted by an AMR installation and is not corrected until the next day; 3) a remote ( located on the outside of the house) meter reads less than the consumption on the actual (inside) meter and the customer is back billed for the difference; 4 ) or when the AMR meter becomes defective, causing a correlation error (e . g . transmitting one-tenth of actual usage) . In cases such as these, where there is no fault on the part of the customer, staff has no authority to adjust a bill to make up for the service deficiency. Customer Service Credits February 8, 2001 Page 2 Although these types of occurrences are infrequent, they do occur, and should be addressed within an approved ordinance framework to better serve and respond to our customers' needs . Therefore, in keeping with the City Council' s established goals to understand . citizen expectations and to respond with a "Nordstrom" /"Ritz Carlton" customer service attitude, the attached Water Service and Consumption Credit Policy is presented in order to empower staff with the ability to provide other water service credits when warranted. COMMUNITY GROUPS/INTERESTED PERSONS CONTACTED Customer Service Team representatives . FINANCIAL IMPACT )A- It is difficult to estimate the exact dollar amount of credits that may be issued. However, it is estimated that less than $5, 000 would be granted based upon the examples contained within the policy, the dollar limitations, and infrequent occurrences that require credit consideration. The annual budget for the Water Fund totals over $16 million.A� IIC�II 'EGAL IMPACT ✓�r} None . ALTERNATIVES 1 . Approve the proposed Customer Service Credit policy. 2 . Modify the proposed Customer Service Credit policy. 3 . Do not approve the proposed Customer Service Credit policy. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council approve the proposed Customer Service Credit policy. .R pectfully submitted, a ( LA-- J■yce k . Parker City Manager JRN/ai Attachment