Why is my utility bill higher this month than usual?
The City of Bartlesville implemented utility rate adjustments for its water, wastewater and sanitation services effective July 1, following approval of the 2021-22 Fiscal Year Budget by the City Council on June 7, 2021.
What are the adjustments?
Water
$1 increase base water meter charge
$0.25 increase per thousand gallons water usage
$0.10 increase per thousand gallons Water Capital Investment Fee
Wastewater
$2 increase sewer base charge
$0.20 increase per thousand gallons of sewer charge
Sanitation
$1.50 increase refuse collection (poly-carts)
Increase in commercial rates
For detailed rate information, see https://www.cityofbartlesville.org/city-services/utilities/utility-rates/ or https://www.cityofbartlesville.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Utility-Rate-2020.pdf
How much of a difference should I be seeing?
For residential customers, the overall increase each month is about 7.8 percent, or an average of $7 per month based on the average customer consumption of 6,500 gallons. Residential customers with higher usage and commercial customers will see a somewhat higher increase in overall services.
What is the City going to do with the revenues generated from these increases?
The adjustments are necessary to fund water and wastewater infrastructure improvements required by Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) and the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the next several years and to meet the escalating costs associated with providing services. More specifically, approximately $65 million will be required to make water and wastewater improvements over the next few years, including a $45 million wastewater treatment plant renovation. About $20 million will be required to upgrade current infrastructure bringing wastewater to the newly renovated plant.
For more information about the City’s water and wastewater infrastructure needs, see Infrastructure needs drive rate adjustments.
Why can’t the City just take this money from sales tax revenue?
Sales tax revenue and utility revenues are completely separate sources of funding, with sales tax revenue making up the bulk of the General Fund and utility revenues funding utility services and expenditures. The General Fund is used to fund almost all City operations, which includes General Fund personnel and all City programs and services except utilities.
Utility services, on the other hand, are Enterprise Funds. They are treated and run as though they are their own companies and have to stand on their own, meaning they are funded through utility rate revenues for operations and utility capital fees for infrastructure improvements.
So while it’s true that General Funds and Enterprise Funds are separate and are not intermingled, it is also true that sales tax funds would not be generated quickly enough to pay for the needed infrastructure even if the funds could be intermingled.
How did the City come up with these amounts?
The rate adjustments were approved by the City Council based on the findings and recommendations of third-party consultant company NewGen. NewGen, which also completed a solid waste study for the City of Bartlesville in 2018, recommended rate/fee adjustments for the next five years. The basis of the study was to recover cost and infrastructure needs for the next five years. The council opted to approve increases only for the 2001-22 Fiscal Year with plans to further review NewGen’s recommendations regarding possible additional adjustments for the coming years.
Aren’t our rates higher than anyone else in the area?
No. Prior to these rate adjustments, the City of Bartlesville fell at the lower end of the spectrum when compared to other municipalities in the region of similar size. The increases will bring the City’s rates from the lower end of the spectrum to around the middle.
Why didn’t I know about this?
The adjustments were discussed during several public meetings held in June. Information was also publicized in the City newsletter, City Beat, and on the City website, www.cityofbartlesville.org, and social media platforms, as well as independent local media sources.
My bill indicates I’ve been double-charged for water. What should I do?
You haven’t been double-charged. This is an itemized accounting of your water usage at the previous rate and the current rate.
I need help reading my bill.
Here is a sample utility bill and an explanation of what it means: https://www.cityofbartlesville.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Utility-Example.pdf
I need help understanding my usage.
Utility customers are always welcome to contact the City’s Utility Billing Office, which can be reached by emailing utilitybilling@cityofbartlesville.org or calling 918.338.4224.