Title
An Ordinance amending Section 32-107, Water Tap Fees, of the Code Of Ordinances of the City Of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, regarding water tap fees. (F&BC 3/6/23)
Body
Key Issues:
The Water Utilities department requested HDR to review Water Tap Fee methodology following the completion of master planning efforts to ensure that fees were appropriately designed. The Water Master Plan is substantially completed which allowed the department to review the current water tap fee model similar to the process that was used for the sanitary sewer connection fee methodology.
The current water tap fee methodology was developed in the mid 1990’s to address water supply demands that were constraining development. The water tap fees were designed to recover the costs associated with development related capital projects by assigning a proportionate share of the total capital costs to each new water connection. The original tap fee ordinance became effective on March 1, 1996.
The Water Master Plan confirmed many of the projects that were in the existing water tap fee model, but additional improvements were identified to meet the demands specified in the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The Master Plan indicated that additional water supply would be necessary and recommended that the Water Utilities department move forward on the Jackson Cass Transmission Main Phase IV project for an additional 8 mgd.
The methodology utilized to establish these fees were based on current operating data, historical trends, projected demands, projected development related capital costs, current obligations and available supply. The model utilized prior Water Master planning data as the basis of the current Equivalent Residential Unit “ERU” calculation. The ERU required an estimate for the Average day per capita demand and the Max day Multiplier to calculate the proportional impact on the water system of each new connection. With the update to the Water Master Plan, these two factors needed ...
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