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SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL <br />1 <br /> <br />Responses to City Council Agenda Items – September 16, 2025 <br /> <br /> <br />Regular Meeting <br /> <br />Agenda Item #18 Receive a report and provide direction on a draft recommendation for <br />updates to the Utility Billing Discount Program to include a 30 percent utility bill discount <br />to qualified low-income and income-qualified senior residents with less than 24 hundred <br />cubic feet (ccf) usage per water bill with a maximum cap of $425,000 in General Fund <br />allocation: <br />1. Under the proposed change, if a household uses 35 units, and the discount <br />applies only up to 24 units, does the customer lose eligibility entirely, or do they <br />receive the discount for the first 24 units only (assuming they qualify by income)? <br />A. If a customer uses more than the average water quota, the customer will not <br />be eligible for the discount on their entire bill for that billing period. The usage <br />cap is part of the current discount program and was put in place to promote <br />water conservation. The proposed change is to update the usage to align with <br />a typical user under the recent water rate study. <br /> <br />2. How is the City going to add these new criteria for eligibility in #4 & #5, but then <br />also limit the total program to $425,000 in #6 (a specific amount). If the cap is <br />reached by May or June, would households be denied any discount for the <br />remainder of the fiscal year? <br />A. When the annual cap is reached, the discount will not be applied to the <br />remaining billing periods until the annual cap is replenished in the following <br />fiscal year, or a budget amendment is made, subject to City Council approval. <br />The intent of the proposed adjustments is to adjust the program to be <br />sustainable within the City’s budget while still supporting lower-income <br />households with the greatest needs. The City could choose to adjust either <br />the program requirements or the budget limit (or both) as part of the mid-term <br />budget amendments once more data is received. <br /> <br />3. Did staff analyze what reducing the discount percentage (i.e. from 30% to 25% or <br />20%) would mean in terms of total program cost? What does each 1% cost the <br />program? <br />A. The current discount program consists of 225 total low-income households, <br />accounting for approximately 11 percent of the discount cost (based on <br />overall expenditure) and 3,200 total senior households, accounting for <br />approximately 89 of the overall discount cost. Under current program <br />requirements, the Senior Discount is age-based and not income-based. It is