Patterson City Council moves to connect utility rates to CPI

The Patterson City Council unanimously passed ordinances to amend rates for water, sewer and gas service to reflect the Consumer Price Index during its monthly meeting Tuesday.
The changes were adopted after a public hearing prior to the meeting.
“By using the CPI, we will be able to avoid over or undercharging our customers on an annual basis,” Mayor Rodney Grogan said during the public hearing.
Beginning Aug. 1 and on that day each year to come, the water rates assessed to customers will reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. Currently, the city of Patterson is charging a 2% increase per year on water rates.
“But water right now CPI is anywhere between 2.2 and 2.9, so when you average that out, we should be like at a 2.4 or 2.5,” Grogan said.
Grogan noted that would be like $5 per year the city would lose on water for each of the city’s 2,300 households, and areas outside the city.
Grogan said the city must ensure that it can pay its revenue bonds on the water plant.
Until Aug. 1, all flat-rate increase provisions in effect will remain.
Because the city already is locked in on sewer and gas service rates it will charge, the changes approved at Tuesday’s meeting strictly tying increases to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers will not go into effect until Jan. 1, 2022. Each year thereafter on Jan. 1, rates will be calculated using the CPI.
Also Tuesday, the council introduced an ordinance for millage rates for the 2020 tax year for general alimony tax and public improvement bond issues for waterworks. A tax of 14 mills will be assessed for public improvement bond issues, while a general alimony tax of 8.3 mills will be assessed.
In other action, the council:
—Heard from Melanie Caillouet with Providence Engineering in a public hearing about projects the city is applying for funding through a U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Application. The projects, which total more than $7 million, include water and gas meter replacements, a waterline crossing on the Lower Atchafalaya River, improvements to the water treatment plant and sewer lift station rehabilitation as well as the relocation of the Signe’ Drive Sewer Lift Station.
—Heard from Caillouet in her engineering report that surveying is complete of Phase II of the Patterson streets project, and plans are 70% complete. Caillouet expects to have the final plans by the Aug. 4 meeting.
—Directed City Attorney Russel Cremaldi to inform the owner of a tract of land at Williams and O streets that is filled with graves that the city is not interested in acquiring the land. The mayor and council also had lengthy discussion but took no action, concerning adjacent city property with graves on it about the possibility of making that a cemetery.