By CARA LORELLO
Staff Reporter
Starting next month, flushing will cost a bit less for hotel and motel businesses in Airway Heights.
Regular administrative sewer fees charged by the city got a reduction approved by resolution from the City Council on Monday, following a recent rate analysis that showed annual flows being less than officials previously estimated. Rate analysis are typically done at the end of the budget year to make sure the city is charging based on the amount of use.
The study, done by Financial Solutions Consultant Group, reversed previous assumptions that these annual flows were having an impact on the city sewer system.
“Our comprehensive sewer plan is done with a set of assumptions. Our analysis updated these assumptions, and came up less than we'd previously thought,” City Administrator Albert Tripp said on Tuesday.
The resolution changes the previous administrative sewer rate of $48.01 per unit per month to $36 per unit per month, and that applies to structures with four or more units. Currently, there are five hotel or motel businesses in Airway Heights, with total number of units varying from 12 to 61.
Money from the fees goes toward operations and maintenance of the sewer system, and any additional revenue is funneled into an account for construction of the city's new wastewater treatment facility.
Results from the analysis and rate change proposals were shared in a series of meetings with area business owners between June and July. Some might see savings in their monthly bills, others not so much, as Tripp said the cost of doing business factors in a lot of variances from the frequency of tenants to the consumption rate per unit.
“Generally speaking the feedback was mixed. It proposes a rate reduction but not every one will have the same result,” Tripp said when asked what owners' response was to the changes.
For owners of bigger establishments such as Stratford Suites and Days Inn, it's still a bigger charge than the costs for doing business in Spokane. Days Inn co-partner Janayti Sangani said during the meeting he didn't agree with what was being proposed, mainly because it's more difficult to bring in and retain customers in Airway Heights compared to running a hotel business in Spokane. For a business that contributes its share to the local economy, he added, Days Inn “won't see any savings” until the year 2010 when the rate drops to $16.48 per unit.
He asked for council's consideration to expedite the rates for 2008 and 2009 and go with the 2010 rate. “We consider it fair for us to run our business,” Sangani said.
The rate reduction translates to a $2.2 million net loss in revenue for the city, Tripp said. With the expedited rates, the net loss would be greater, and, as Councilman Larry Haskell pointed out, that money would have to be recouped on local taxpayers and puts the city behind in the planned construction of its treatment facility.
All but one council member voted in favor of the resolution as proposed based on results from the analysis.
The net loss from the reduction, Tripp said, will have to be made up in adjustments to rates for other classifications, which officials will determine at a later time.
The resolution creates a separate classification for hotel and motel businesses, previously identified as multi-family by the city in determining rates.
The resolution also removed mobile homes out of the multi-family classification to single-family classification, for which the monthly sewer rate charge is $60.
Cara Lorello can be reached at [email protected]
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