Letter: Future Water Bills a Concern
Hi everyone, I’m a member of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District Board of Directors, but I’m speaking only for myself in this letter. I want our water bills to be affordable for everyone in our community. And for most of the money associated with rate increases to be applied to our capital obligations.
We as a community face a stark choice about our future. The chart below shows where we have been (gray line) and three possible futures through 2030 (includes the upcoming surcharge – if it passes).
- Blue line: Continuation of the rate increase trends for the last 8 years projected into the future for another 8 years
- Orange line: Rate of operating expenses increases for the last 8 years projected into the future for another 8 years as rate increases (revenue matches operating expense increases)
- Green line: If we increase rates by 4% a year—2X over historical inflation rates.
As Owners, the power is in your hands to determine which of these futures you wish to have. And we need to make that decision having complete transparency about what our capital obligations are so that we know how much money we need to apply to them.
In order to make this happen, our community needs to stop all proposed rate increases until your Board and District assemble a complete picture of our financial position, especially our capital obligations. Remember, the Proposition 218 process is a backwards vote. You must submit a form by Aug 5th to vote No. Not voting is the same as voting Yes.
Because right now, I’m very worried that the blue line—or something close to it—represents our future if left unchecked. Thank you.
Bob Fultz, Boulder Creek
Featured image by Bob Fultz
(Editor’s note: While most ratepayers should have received a ballot in the mail and can submit their protest in that fashion, finding a protest ballot via the slvwd.com website is complicated. Individuals who wish to protest but didn’t receive a mailed ballot, should contact the district directly at 831-338-2153 or customerservice@slvwd.com.)
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Things I am considering ( and I have decided to support the fore surcharge. 1) SLVWD lost about 900 ratepayer accounts due fire. That is a lot of revenue lost as well. 2) Some SLVWD projects have deadlines to be completed in order to obtain FEMA funding, so cannot delay those projects. Do we have enough to do the need repairs ? WE got a low % loan.. But how much will FEMA reimburse and when? 3) SLVWD has already done amazing work but we have much more to do.
Debbie