Tariff Application Clean-Up and Decision Rules

Produce a practical guide showing exactly which tariff applies to which user type, property type, service level, or activity. Many user-fee systems lose money because staff apply the wrong rule to mixed-use premises, commercial users, shared services, or special categories. A short decision guide can sharply reduce routine underbilling without changing the tariff itself.

• The same kinds of users are billed differently across wards or counters.

• Frontline staff depend on informal judgment rather than clear written rules.

• Billing disputes are common because users do not understand why one tariff was applied instead of another.

The city needs authority to issue administrative guidance under the existing tariff schedule. That is usually possible even when the formal tariff is fixed by law.

Prepare short decision notes with worked examples, train staff, and require supervisor review for ambiguous or high-value cases.

• The tariff schedule itself is so contradictory or outdated that it cannot be made workable without a formal revision.

Produce a practical guide showing exactly which tariff applies to which user type, property type, service level, or activity. Many user-fee systems lose money because staff apply the wrong rule to mixed-use premises, commercial users, shared services, or special categories. A short decision guide can sharply reduce routine underbilling without changing the tariff itself.

• Review the tariff schedule and the most common charging situations to identify where staff are making inconsistent or ad hoc decisions.

• Translate the formal tariff into a short operational guide that explains how to treat the most common categories, edge cases, and combinations of services.

• Audit a sample of current accounts, correct the clearest misapplications, and document the reason for each change.

• Use the first correction cycle to refine the guidance and identify where the schedule itself may later need policy reform.

The city needs authority to issue administrative guidance under the existing tariff schedule. That is usually possible even when the formal tariff is fixed by law.

Prepare short decision notes with worked examples, train staff, and require supervisor review for ambiguous or high-value cases.

• The same kinds of users are billed differently across wards or counters.

• Frontline staff depend on informal judgment rather than clear written rules.

• Billing disputes are common because users do not understand why one tariff was applied instead of another.

• The tariff schedule itself is so contradictory or outdated that it cannot be made workable without a formal revision.

• The city cannot yet prove the charging basis well enough to defend corrections and explain them clearly to affected users.

• Customers resist tariff clean-up when they do not understand what changed. Bills and notices should explain the charging basis in plain language.

• Protect lifeline users and statutory exemptions through separate approval and review rules rather than leaving them to ad hoc frontline discretion.