TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Rod Tonelli, Interim City Manager
SUBJECT:
title
Award of Professional Services Agreement for the Non-Revenue Water Billing System Audit to EMA Inc. in the amount of $44,029.00
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BACKGROUND:
As part of the Public Utilities Department multifaceted approach to identifying real and apparent sources of water loss, the Public Utilities Department has been working with the Finance Department to audit the City’s metering and billing processes. “Real losses” are defined as actual lost water that was not metered (such as from leaking pipes) and apparent losses are water consumed and metered but appears to be lost water from improper metering and/or improper billing (such as an under registering water meter, or a water account setup with incorrect billing units).
City staff conferred with other communities and consultants to identify successes they had with completing similar work, and the engineering/data-science vendor EMA Inc. was recommended to assist with a billing system audit. EMA Inc. specializes in assisting municipal water and wastewater utilities audit their billing processes to identify apparent sources of water loss. City staff met with EMA to discuss our billing practices and project goals, and EMA was requested to provide a proposal to complete a billing system audit.
Reducing the City’s non-revenue water is a requirement of our Lake Michigan water allocation permit. In 2021, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) issued an order granting the City of Joliet a Lake Michigan Water Allocation Permit. This permit allows Joliet to begin using Lake Michigan water as its source of supply in 2030 and establishes annual allocation amounts through the year 2050. As part of this allocation permit, the City of Joliet must comply with the IDNR’s regulatory water conservation/efficiency requirements, including a 10% threshold for non-revenue water. The City of Joliet has submitted an acceptable plan to comply with this requirement by 2030. The Public Service Committee reviewed this memo at the November 6, 2023 meeting and recommended for approval by full Council.
CONCLUSION:
EMA Inc. provided a proposal in the about of $44,029.00 to complete the scope of work including: correlate the number of meter reads and the number of billing accounts; correlate that system-generated bills are presented in the bill print files; correlate that received meter reads are mapped to customer records; identification of orphan water meters; validate that the consumption on “non-billed” accounts are accounted for correctly; identify and review any anomalies affecting consumption accuracy or billing accuracy. Upon completion of this audit City staff will work with EMA to reconcile any issues discovered and complete needed follow-up field work.
Section 2-438 of the City of Joliet Code of Ordinance states that purchases over twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) may be awarded without written specifications under certain circumstances. Two (2) of these circumstances apply:
(f) Purchases when authorized by a concurring vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the Mayor and City Council.
(g) Purchases of professional services.
Sufficient funds exist utilizing the Water & Sewer Operating Fund (Org 50080010, Object 523300, $44,029.00).
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Based on the above, it is recommended that the Mayor and City Council approve the Professional Services Agreement for the Non-Revenue Water Billing System Audit, in the amount of $44,029.00, to EMA Inc.
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