Upcoming Rate and Fee Changes

During last night's meeting, several questions were raised regarding the District's rates and fees, so we wanted to take a moment and clarify a recent rate change as well as an upcoming transaction fee update.

The District has seen a steady increase in operations costs over the past few years, especially with regard to the treated drinking water purchased from GCWA. A few years back, a 4.5% annual water & sewer rates increase was discussed and approved by the Board to accommodate this; however, the Board of Directors has consistently opted to defer the increase when each year's budget came up for review. Following a thorough rate study earlier this year by Raftelis (an industry leader in utility rate studies), it was reaffirmed that an increase would be necessary to maintain solvency. A 4% increase was implemented, resulting in a roughly $1.90 increase in most residents' bills. The last rate adjustment was performed in late 2018 and at the time was a much more significant increase as rates had been stagnant for five years, resulting in a $10 impact on the average resident's bill.

Beginning in December, a 3.5% convenience fee will be assessed on debit or credit card transactions. This fee has always been charged, but the District has been absorbing that cost rather than passing it through to the customer. After surveying several nearby utility districts, most pass through that cost to the customers, so the Board of Directors decided to align the District with standard practices. The District still accepts cash, check, & money order, as well as the option to set up ACH automatic payment from a bank account, for which there is no fee.