CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Week ending June 22, 2012
May sales tax distributions
The city has recently received its May sales tax distribution. The distribution is the result of retail sales from mid-March to mid-April. The distribution of $2,685,526.96 is $120,000 more than the prior year distribution for the same month. Please see the attached report for more information.
Golf course water billing
Late in 2011, utility billing staff discovered that Alvamar Golf Course had been underbilled for water utilization for several years, totaling more than $200,000. A review of other meters identified a similar issue with the meter at Lawrence Country Club. The information below better outlines the issues specific to the golf courses.
· After installing radio transmitters on the meters at two local golf courses, the City did not correctly program the software for the type of water meter register being read. This resulted in the billed read being significantly less than the actual consumption.
· This incorrect coding of transmitter and meter register only occurred in a few cases. Those cases have all been examined and any required adjustments made. Both entities have been contacted regarding the discrepancy.
· Our procedures require notification to customers that are experiencing unusually high water consumption. Our procedures have since been amended to include contacting large users when their consumption is unusually low.
· During the period of low consumption by the golf courses, the city was experiencing wetter than normal summers. It was not clear to us or the golf courses that the lower consumption was not due to the additional rain.
· While the amount of monthly consumption was initially billed incorrectly, the amount of total consumption during the period is known. It is this amount of consumption, less the amount previously billed, that the city is attempting to collect from the golf courses.
· If the amount billed was too high, the city would be contacting the golf courses about processing a refund.
The City of Lawrence is intent on ensuring that its monthly utility bills are accurate. In 2011, only 1.35% of our bills required a reread. In most of these instances the original read was confirmed. Our billing principles are:
· The City of Lawrence desires to collect the amount due on our bills. We do not want to collect more than is due, nor less than the amount due.
· The City of Lawrence is willing to work with customers by making payment arrangements on delinquent accounts as long as it is not the day the account is scheduled for disconnection or the customer has failed to keep prior payment arrangements.
· The City of Lawrence intends to treat all of our customers fairly.
Staff has contacted our auditing firm, Mize, Houser and Company, to enlist their services to provide a third party review of the billing information relating to these two accounts. This review will provide a basis for resolution of this issue as well as recommendations for improvement.
City adds natural gas vehicle to fleet
The City of Lawrence and Black Hills Energy teamed up to convert one of the city’s Street Division trucks to use compressed natural gas as its primary fuel source. Black Hills energy donated the conversion kit to the city and Fuel Conversion Solutions installed the kit. A media event was held on June 20 to promote the use of this alternative-fuel vehicle. A press release was sent and photos of the event are attached.
Summer concert series drawing crowds
The Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department’s Summer Concert Series is off to a very successful start this summer. The series has attracted large crowds to hear the Lawrence City Band perform. The eight concerts are held each Wednesday at the William Kelly Bandstand in South Park. The first concert was rained out, but despite the weather, a standing room only crowd filled room 130 in Murphy hall on the campus of The University of Kansas. The City Band’s annual 4th of July concert will be held on Tuesday, July 3 instead of their regular Wednesday night performances. Please see attached report for photos.