Capital Program/LTCP Rate Strategies – Finding Silver Bullets

The City of Indianapolis needed to complete the development of its LTCP for combating raw sewage overflows. The City needed US EPA's and IDEM's approval of that plan and had been working with them for a number of years to come to a mutual agreement on the details of that plan, including its cost. The completion of that process was accomplished in September 2006 with US EPA's and IDEM's approval. A primary component of this successful implementation was the rate analysis and successful rate implementation strategies that funded the first phases of the projects, minimized public concerns, and produced one of the most successful rate increase episodes in the City's history. This included identifying and changing criticized rate structure funding mechanisms, starting early in the public outreach process, focusing on projects and identifying the environmental benefits to the streams of the City. Clearly identifying and communicating a sound rate strategy kicked off a successful overall project-building program that encompasses over 3 billion in water quality and neighborhood improvements over the 20- year program period.