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<br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: County Commissioners <br />COPIES: John Link, County Manager <br />Greg Wilder, Assistant to the County Manager <br />FROM: Paul Thames, PE, County Engineer <br />DATE: October 10, 2002 <br />SUBJECT: W. Atherton complaints relative to Town of Hillsborough water/sewer utility rates <br />Asper the request of the BOCC, County staff have evaluated the information/material provided to the <br />Board by Mr. William Atherton of 1621 Cavell Court in Churton Grove in support of: a) his contention <br />that the Town of Hillsborough's utility rates for out-of--town customers are too high; and b) his request <br />that the BOCC advocate lower utility rates for out-of--town customers by refusing to expedite approval of <br />upcoming phases of the Churton Grove development and by any other means that are appropriate. <br />The material submitted by Mr. Atherton included the following: <br />• Mr. Atherton's calculation of daily/monthly water use (and cost based on Hillsborough utility rates) <br />by a typical family, broken down into water consumption by task (brushing teeth, flushing toilets, <br />bathing, cooking, dishwashing, hand washing, etc.), and <br />• A representation of the monthly water/sewer utility costs for houses that are not yet occupied (lawn <br />watering, etc.), and <br />• A representation/calculation of the difference in water/sewer utility costs fox a typical in-town <br />customer versus the typical out-of--town customer with the Town's projected total monthly and <br />yearly revenue from in-town versus out-of--town customers, and <br />• A comparison between various monthly mortgage payments (for differing loan amounts and interest <br />rates) and utility costs (for varying family sizes), and <br />• A copy of portions of the "Town of Hillsborough Citizens' Advisory Water and Sewer Task Force <br />Water and Sewer Report" with the following specific findings and recommendations emphasized: <br />1. The Town's present flat utility rate structure may not be the most favorable, and the Town <br />and its customers might better be served by a graduated (increasing) rate structure, and <br />2. The Town probably cannot technically cost justify the application of double utility rates to <br />out-of--town customers, and <br />