HomeMy Public PortalAboutExhibit MSD 33 - MSD Opening StatementRate Commission Technical Conference — April 4, 2018 Exhibit MSD 33
MSD Opening Statement
Good Morning, my name is Susan Myers and I am the General Counsel for the
Metropolitan St. Louis District. I would like to thank all of you for serving on the Rate
Commission in this rate setting process and allowing me the opportunity to provide an
opening statement on behalf of the District.
As you heard in your orientation MSD serves about 1.3 million people with a service area
of 520 square miles. MSD was formed pursuant to the Missouri Constitution in 1954 and
began operation in 1956. MSD gains it powers from the Missouri Constitution and the
MSD Charter Plan.
You are here today per Section 7.040 of the MSD Charter, whereby the Rate Commission
is to "...review and make recommendations to the Board regarding all proposed changes
in wastewater rates, stormwater rates and tax rates or change in the structure of the
foregoing." The current Rate Proposal before you proposes a new Stormwater Capital
Rate to be used to address flooding and erosion control issues.
It is also important to understand which MSD rates and taxes are not being changed, with
regard to their rate or structure, and therefore are not part of the current Rate Proposal.
There are three existing revenue sources and services that are not part of this Rate
Proposal:
1. Wastewater Rates- MSD's wastewater rates and services are not being changed
in any way and therefore are not included in the current Rate Proposal. They will
be the subject of a future rate proposal scheduled to be delivered in 2019. Since
the Consent Decree only involves wastewater issues, and is funded by wastewater
rates, the Consent Decree requirements or funding is not applicable to the current
Rate Proposal.
2. Stormwater Taxes for Regulatory Issues- MSD's 2 cent property tax used to
fund stormwater regulatory services and the services themselves are not being
changed in any way and therefore are not part of the current Rate Proposal. The
current funding and structure should be sufficient for the foreseeable future.
3. Stormwater Taxes for the Operation and Maintenance of the Public
Stormwater System- MSD's 10 cent property tak used to fund stormwater
operation and maintenance services and the services themselves are not being
changed in any way and therefore are not part of the current Rate Proposal. The
current funding and structure should be sufficient for the foreseeable future. This
is the tax recently passed as Proposition S.
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Rate Commission Technical Conference — April 4, 2018 Exhibit MSD 33
MSD Opening Statement
Throughout these technical conferences, please keep the following three things in mind:
1. The current Rate Proposal before you proposes a new Stormwater Capital Rate to
be used to address flooding and erosion control issues.
2. This is the final piece of the 3-piece Stormwater funding pu771e — remember,
Regulatory services and O&M services are already covered by the 2 cent and 10
cent property taxes, respectively.
3. The proposed rate is currently scheduled to be presented to the voters for their
consideration in April 2019.
It is the District's opinion that the proposed Stormwater Kate Change Proposal imposes a
fair and reasonable burden on all classes of ratepayers as the proposed rates were
determined using an impervious area measurement method.
The District's testimony today will provide clarification regarding the detailed aspects of
the District's Rate Change Proposal and demonstrate how the proposed rates are a result
of our customer's needs and wants.
The order of appearance of MSD witnesses will be: Brian Hoelscher, MSD Executive
Director, myself, MSD General Counsel; Rich Unverferth, MSD Director of
Engineering; Marion Gee, MSD Director of Finance; Tom Beckley of Rafielis Financial
Consultants; and Henrietta Locklear of Raftelis Financial Consultants serving as the
District's Rate Consultant.
This concludes my opening remarks.
I ask that my opening remarks be accepted by the Rate Commission as Exhibit MSD 33.
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