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Desert Water Agency rates to rise $9 a month

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 4, 2008 at 5:52 am

From MyDesert.com:

Desert Water Agency customers will see a rate increase of about $9 per month on their bills by August, if not sooner.  The agency’s board of directors approved the rate hike Tuesday, but not without opposition from critics of the adjustment.  About 42 concerned residents attended the agency’s monthly meeting, where many of them voiced their opinions about the increase during a public hearing.

Critics of the adjustment urged the board to postpone the hearing or withdraw the measure entirely, saying the agency ineffectively contacted or informed many customers about the domestic water use resolution.

The board sternly defended its position, saying that it fulfilled every requirement set by California law to duly inform voters, and passed the adjustment 4-1 with director Craig Ewing dissenting.

Ewing was not opposed to the rate increase, but took issue with the way it was designed.  “I believe that a rate increase is necessary to cover the increased expenditures that the agency is facing,” he said.  But instead of an overall increase, a tiered rate system should be put in place to reward customers with lower rates if they conserve water, he said.  “I think the board and the agency (have) justified a need for an increase,” Ewing said.

Read the full text of this story from MyDesert.com by clicking here.

June 4, 2008 · Filed Under Coachella Valley, Other Water Agencies

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