10/16/1986 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

tion and is now used by ADP for man - aging acLounts receivable. 'This extensive process for calculat- ing rates his ensured that, the finni structure meets the test o equity. T17c, process was efficient; developing the gigital data base took essi six months. In addition. raving a com- puterized data base makes it easy for the utility to keep accounts up to date. The Calm Before the Storm In early 1985, the council was pre- sented with another ordinance that contained the stormwater manage- ment code, which officially estab- lished the user fee and permitted the department to implement the drain- age code. The stormwater manage- ment code, prepared by the city staff working with Burgess & Niple, Lim- ited, a local consulting firm, also set the date for the opening of the utility and defined the utility's respon- sibilities and the procedures for rnas- ter planning, inspections, violations, obtaining permits, and more. An ap- peals process and an appeals board were established for resolving in- equities. Before the bills were mailed, we sent a color brochure explaining the purpose of the utility to property owners as part of an overall public For details circle No. A -123 on card relations information program. (The mailing also served a dual purpose. Undeliverable brochures allowed us to check the accuracy of the names and addresses in the master account file.) More than three years of re- search, investigation, and planning ended July 11, 1985, when the first bills were mailed. On that day, a one -page newspaper advertisement with the headline, "It's going to keep on raining,' announced and ex- plained the new utility. The ad was still another way to inform people who might still be unaware of the new pro- gram. Prepared for questions from citi- zens, additional phone lines were in- stalled, and a temporary staff was hired from a local service to answer customer's questions. More than 1,000 phone calls were logged at the division that day. After a week; the utility was receiving onlyaout 100 calls a day. Even with the public involvement efforts, there were, of course, com- plaints. Some called to find out "what this was all about." Other property owners understood but called to cor- rect address errors. Still others t oug t the utility was a goo i ea u believed that their own bill was incor- rect. Some even called to say that it was "about time" the city did some - tjiing about stormwater. About 20 percent of the callers complained that the new utility was nu fair. We explained the purpose of the program, answered their ques- tions and told them about the appeals process that had been established as part of the stormwater management code. Follow Up With the program underway, the division is now finalizing documents that outline specifics of the utility such as detailed rules and regulations. This document will be reviewed by city departments and then by outside con- sultants and professional societies. This review process will ensure the proposed regulations are effective for operating the utility. Also being finalized is a mainte- nance master plan, which contains maintenance management objec- tives, resource requirements, infor- mation on handling complaints, and routine and remedial maintenance, among other guidelines. Six wa- tershed master plans, expected to be completed no later than 1988, will be the basis for the stormwater capital improvement program and are being derived directly from reported citizen complaints. To begin implementing some of these projects, the division is using microcomputers to help prioritize 154 PUBLIC WORKS for September, 1986