New Water Bill Design

The Works Committee recommends the adoption of the following report (July 5, 1999) from the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer:

Purpose:

To present the design for a new City of Toronto water bill which will replace the existing bills utilized at the former municipalities of East York, Etobicoke, North York and Toronto, and the bill used by the former Scarborough Public Utilities Commission in the billing of water for the former Scarborough and York.

Funding Sources:

Funding for the design and printing of the water bill is contained within the Finance Department's operating budget.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that the design for the new water bill (attached as Appendix I) be approved.

Council Reference/Background/History:

The City of Toronto Finance Department currently bills water customers for the former municipalities of East York, Toronto, North York and Etobicoke. In the early fall, the Finance Department will commence billing the water customers for the former municipalities of Scarborough and York. Currently, Toronto Hydro (formerly Scarborough Public Utilities Commission) bills water customers for the former municipalities of Scarborough and York.

At its meeting held on June 16, 1999, the Works Committee gave consideration to a report (June 1, 1999) from Councillor Saundercook regarding the water bill format. In its consideration of this matter, the Works Committee, among other things:

(a)adopted the following principles and guidelines for a new water bill:

(i)bill must be easy to read and understand (in contrast to the public perception of the 1998 tax bill) - mailing addresses, information, etc., should be prominently displayed and printed in relatively large and readable fonts so that it is easy to read. The information flow on the bill must also be relatively simple;

(ii)for public information purposes, the cost of water could be prominently displayed and broken down. This is consistent with current bill status and work plan - where W&WW develop the ratios for the bill, and this information is provided to Finance. In the same spirit, Toronto Hydro has also recently redesigned its bill giving a breakdown of total costs that make up an energy bill;

(iii)for public information for metered customers, previous and current readings on the meter, along with total consumption per billing period should be displayed. This is consistent with many billing practices in the former municipalities;

(iv) a consumption history chart (in the form of a graph or table) could be provided once data is collected on the new system, as this will allow the individual homeowner to monitor their consumption and identify potential problems (for example, if water usage keeps increasing, this may indicate a leak in the plumbing of the home);

(v) there must be a provision made for general information boxes - where other water related information may be shown (such as messages regarding taste and odor problems); and

(vi)consistent with generally accepted product labeling regulations, US Congressional Legislation and Works and Utilities Committee precedent, chemical composition of the tap water should be included on the bill and/or any inserts based on yearly reporting from the Water and Wastewater Services data;

(b)directed that the new water bill be forwarded to the Toronto Inter-Departmental Environment (TIE) team for review; and

(c)directed that the Commissioner of Finance, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Works and Emergency Services, report to Works Committee regarding the final design of the water bill.

Comments:

With the consolidation of water billing operations and systems, and the adoption by Council of a harmonized water rate structure for the City, the Finance Department has embarked on the design of a new City of Toronto water bill. The goal for the new bill design is a clear, easy-to-follow format which provides customers with comprehensive water and sewer information.

The Finance Department currently bills water customers for the former municipalities of East York, Toronto, North York and Etobicoke off of four different water computer systems, using four different bill formats:

Appendix AFormer East York bill

Appendix BFormer Etobicoke bill

Appendix CFormer North York bill

Appendix DFormer Toronto bill

Toronto Hydro (formerly Scarborough Public Utilities Commission - SPUC) currently bills water customers for the former municipalities of Scarborough and York. Appendix E is a copy of the bill format used by former SPUC. Appendix F is a copy of the new bill format recently adopted by Toronto Hydro. In early fall 1999, the Finance Department will commence billing water for the former municipalities of Scarborough and York.

None of the water billing systems currently in use across the former municipalities are Y2K compliant. In addition, the existing systems, including Toronto Hydro's system, cannot bill water consumption in accordance with the new water rate structure adopted by Council in May of this year.

In August, the Finance Department will begin converting the current water billing systems onto a new, consolidated water billing system which is Y2K compliant and which accommodates the new water rate structure scheduled to come into effect later this year. By November, all of the former municipalities, including Scarborough and York, will be on one, consolidated water database system.

In preparation for the conversion to a consolidated water billing system, and the introduction of the new water rate structure adopted by Council to take effective later this year, the Finance Department, in consultation with Works and Emergency Services, embarked on the design of a new water bill for the City of Toronto.

Appendices G and H are examples (in black and white) of what the new bill will look like for a large volume, commercial account and for flat-rate accounts:

Appendix GLarge Volume Commercial Account

Appendix HFlat-Rate Account

Appendix I is a coloured mock-up of the proposed water bill design. The billing information presented in Appendix I is typical of a residential water account.

The proposed water bill was designed in consultation with staff from Works and Emergency Services. The design encompasses the principles adopted by the Works Committee at its meeting of June 16, 1999, and was reviewed and endorsed by the Toronto Inter-Departmental Environment (TIE) team at its meeting held on June 22, 1999.

By June of next year, once consumption data is collected and recorded on the new consolidated water system, the bill format will be expanded to include a consumption history chart (in the form of a graph or table). An additional panel (7" x 3 ½") will be added to the bottom of the bill to accommodate consumption history information (including date of read, number of days, consumption per day, amount billed for the period) and a chart/graph. The additional panel will allow us to increase the font size of the information printed on the back of the bill, making it easier to read. A draft mock-up of the expanded design will be available at the meeting.

Conclusion:

The proposed Toronto water bill design (attached as Appendix I) provides our customers with comprehensive water and sewage information in an easy-to-understand format. The design was developed in consultation with staff from Works and Emergency Services, and was reviewed and endorsed by the Toronto Inter-Department Environment team.

It is our intention to begin using the new water bill format as current water systems across the former municipalities are converted onto the new, consolidated water database system. Conversion is scheduled to begin in August of this year, and should be completed by October/November 1999.

It is necessary to finalize the bill design by the end of July 1999 to enable the work to be completed to meet this objective.

Contacts:

Giuliana Carbone392-8065

(A copy of Appendices A to H has been forwarded to all Members of Council with the agenda for the Works Committee meeting of July 14, 1999, and a copy thereof is on file in the office of the City Clerk.)