TDH: 9/7/11

Photo courtesy Flickr user laenulfean [CC]

Because we can’t leave well enough alone, lets take one last look at the city budget. City Council gets together to hash it out starting Monday, Sept. 12, a process that may last up to three days (although that would set something of a modern record). After the jump, we take a look at council members' concerns. (Hint: They have water on the brain.)

A valuable resource for anyone interested in the budget is council’s list of questions for their budget officers; aside from getting raw numbers out there, it’s also provides insight into the issues members are most hung up on.

For instance, we’ve noted the backlash greeting Austin Water’s proposed $6 “sustainability" fee, to be tacked on ratepayers’ monthly statement. While there’s no answer to Laura Morrison’s query on the subject, her question alone raises several intriguing possibilities, including the possibility of a scaled back version. See Question 145, currently the last one posed:

The Austin Water Utility budget proposes a new Revenue Stability Fee at $6 per (5/8" meter) customer. The total expected revenue from the new fee is $23 million. AWU's forecast presentation included Council discussions regarding the possibility of adjusting this fee in order to generate $17 million in revenue at a rate of $4.40 per (5/8" meter) customer. Suggestions have been made (1) to institute the fee as a graduated, progressive fee so that low-volume water users do not see such a large increase in their overall bill, and (2) that the fee be put in the context of an overall long-term plan to generate a Revenue Stabilization Fund with a targeted balance to address both revenue volatility in the long term and to ensure compliance with financial policies regarding AWU's reserves. Considering the initiation of the City's new billing system in October 2011, what is a feasible time frame for instituting a graduated Revenue Stability Fee structure?

Morrison’s question continues, going into accompanying details on rates, additional implementation questions and more. But it also signals how much the ground has shifted beneath Austin Water’s initial proposal – and points to the probability of an in-depth discussion of the subject come Monday.

The Hustle is be taking a quick breather the rest of the week, returning Monday with more budget coverage than is probably healthy. Follow us on Twitter, and return to Newsdesk next week for all the deets as they unfold.

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