Residents in the Sunnyslope County Water District are upset
about a 71-percent increase in their water rates and a 16-percent
increase in their sewer rates.
The new rates, which increased in mid December, were brought
about in order to repay a bond the district took out to pay for new
projects such as a new water treatment plant on Fairview Road and a
new 3.5 million-gallon water tank, said general manager Bryan
Yamaoka.
Residents in the Sunnyslope County Water District are upset about a 71-percent increase in their water rates and a 16-percent increase in their sewer rates.
The new rates, which increased in mid December, were brought about in order to repay a bond the district took out to pay for new projects such as a new water treatment plant on Fairview Road and a new 3.5 million-gallon water tank, said general manager Bryan Yamaoka.
The rates will also generate revenue to cover expenses for a new domestic well and a new office complex, which were part of the $5.2 million bond the district received in May 2002, he said.
Sunnyslope customer Bob Hoefler watched his rates increase from $.85 per 100 gallons of water to $1.45 per 100 gallons and said he was never notified of the large increase by the district.
“I’ve talked to my neighbors and they’re all surprised, too,” Hoefler said.
The district published a public hearing notice in both local newspapers in November, before the increase took place, and held a meeting to discuss with the public why the rates were going to be increased. They also published a summary of the ordinance, Yamaoka said.
“No one attended,” he said. “We knew people knew because they talked to us and we encouraged them to come to our meeting, but nobody showed up.”
Sunnyslope customers will also see an increase in water and sewer rates in the future.
Water rates will be increased by 5 percent each year for the next three years, and sewer rates will increase another 16 percent next year and then 10 percent each year for the following two years, Yamaoka said.
“We’re setting ourselves up to be financially solvent for future projects,” he said. “Seventy-one percent is a big jump, but we need to keep up. Our costs are going up, so we need to pass it on to our customers.”
The district, which has more than 5,000 customers, only did annual reviews as needed until a couple of years ago, which meant they had some catching up to do as far as their rates were concerned.
“We will be doing annual reviews for the next three years,” Yamaoka said.
