The city water department is responsible for supplying water to the city. Water is pumped from deep wells to reservoirs, chlorine is added, and the water is piped to the different customers in the city. The pumps only operate when the reservoirs decline to a certain level. The reservoirs are located on the highest part of the city, so gravity can be used to establish water pressure for the city users. Pipes will frequently break due to age, so the city water department has a maintenance department. The water department has the following accounts to record costs:

If gallons of water consumed by the city are treated as the output of the water department, describe each of the accounts as either fixed or variable. How would you describe each of these accounts if customer services or production activities were used as the cost objectives?

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Maintenance Power (for the pumps) Rent Billing and collection Salaries of top managers Chemicals