CUB Secures Savings for Portland Public Utility Customers
Posted on June 21, 2016 by Janice Thompson
Tags, Water/Wastewater
Due to CUB’s advocacy, $2.1 million will stay in the pockets of Portland public utility customers during fiscal year 2016-17, which begins in July. Portland’s public utilities provide water, sewer, and stormwater management services as directed by the City Council.
CUB’s work this budget cycle began in the fall of 2015 with input to Commissioner-in-Charge Nick Fish when the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) and Portland Water Bureau (PWB) were developing their requested budgets. Our work continued with testimony at every step in the budget process - including comments by CUB members to City Hall – that culminated in City Council adoption of public utility budgets in June.
It took some persistent nudging, but the City Council adopted CUB’s major recommendation to save ratepayer dollars by ending an inappropriate subsidy to developers. Developers pay fees that cover the cost of BES to review building and land use plans to ensure compliance with environmental standards. But what the City Council allowed BES to charge wasn’t enough to cover costs. The question then is: who made up the difference? The answer is you, me, and other ratepayers. Because of CUB, the City Council addressed this cost recovery gap and ended this subsidy to developers.
CUB continues to monitor spending on major construction projects. For example, there are plans to ensure use of all the methane produced during the sewage treatment process in a project that would raise revenue for ratepayers. This is a fine idea, but it involves several partners and project elements that require careful analysis to ensure ongoing profitability. While it does take money to make money, that spending must also consider other BES priorities. For the next fiscal year, the City Council adopted CUB’s recommendation to delay this project’s construction timeline to ensure more rigorous review.
We also advocated for consumer friendly policies such as increased outreach on how customers can receive monthly rather than quarterly bills. We also pushed for oversight improvements in the budget process. For example, CUB has a seat at the table with the City Council during public utility budget work sessions and there is time at each community budget forum dedicated to hearing utility bureau concerns.
There is always more work, but keeping dollars in ratepayer pockets and ensuring value for ratepayer dollars is CUB’s priority for the Portland City Council. There were budget successes and our work continues.
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