HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2011-06-29 snowbird policy
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Leesburg Establishes “Snowbird Policy” for Water Bills
Leesburg, VA (June 29, 2011) – In April 2011, the Leesburg Town Council amended the Town
Code to allow the Town Manager to establish a “Snowbird Policy” to provide relief from high
usage rates for water customers who close their Leesburg homes for a significant portion of the
winter. Under the new policy, Finance Department staff are authorized to work with customers
who are absent from their homes for 60 or more consecutive days during the winter quarter to
establish an estimate of quarterly water usage that will be used as the threshold for the high
use surcharge during non-winter quarters.
The intent of establishing a winter quarter is to set an accurate representation of “normal”
water usage during the winter months. Upon establishment of the winter quarter, if water
usage during any billing period other than the winter quarter exceeds the winter quarter
consumption by 35%, all water is billed at the high usage rate. Customers who spend most of
the winter months outside the area do not establish a winter quarter based on actual usage
since no water is used during the time they are away. As a result, the threshold for the high use
surcharge during non-winter quarters is artificially low and subsequent bills become subject to
the surcharge even though usage is not higher than typical for similar size homes.
Following a number of complaints, the Town Council requested that the Town’s Utility Rate
Advisory Committee (URAC) consider the issue and bring a recommendation back to the
Council. In February 2011, the URAC presented their findings to the Council and recommended
that the Council formalize the current practice of allowing Town staff to review and adjust bills
on a case-by-case basis. The Town Council agreed with the URAC recommendation. The Town
Code amendment was enacted on April 26, 2011 and became effective immediately.
Customers who believe that they qualify as “Snowbirds” and wish to request an adjustment to
their winter quarter usage should complete and submit an application to the Town’s Finance
Department. The form can be downloaded from www.leesburgva.gov/index.aspx?page=1346.
Contact:
Amy Wyks
Assistant Director of Finance for Operations
awyks@leesburgva.gov
703-737-7119
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