Letter: Public works director addresses water rate increase
Editor’s note: Paso Robles Public Works Director Dick McKinley addresses a recent letter to the editor, “City should not be able to carry through with water rate increases” from Matt Frankiewich, a Paso Robles High School student.
Matt,
Thanks for taking the time to think about water, and to write this letter. It is nice to see a student interested in his community. When you talk about the prior rate increase, you should know that it was only half of the increase originally proposed – the first 5 years of a 10 year plan. The city council was not negligent 5 years ago, they raised the rates as much as they could under the circumstances. The rates were designed to take care of the infrastructure, and infrastructure maintenance happens every day. What the rates aren’t able to do is to fund needed large projects, like the replacement of the 90-year old 21st Street Reservoir, without seriously putting the Water Fund in jeopardy.
The people who fought against the water rates last time caused lengthy delays and cost the community millions of dollars. Those same people want to do the same thing again. The city council should move forward with the rate increase because it is the right thing to do, because they followed the state-mandated process fully, and because in the end, out of more than 10,000 customers, fewer than 700 opposed the rate increase. Further, the city council has a fiduciary obligation to protect the water system assets for the ratepayers, and that means to ensure that there are sufficient rates to do that. The council also approved the rates because they understand that the water rates in the community are very low. For example, what do you think is a fair price for a gallon of pure drinking water, delivered to your home 24 hours a day? 25 cents? 50 cents? A bottle of water is much less than a gallon and costs about $1 or more. The fact is that an average household water customer in Paso Robles, after the full 5 years of rate increases are in place, will pay less than 1 cent per gallon of water.
Dick McKinley
Public Works Director
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What the director conveniently leaves out is the fact that when phase one was passed it was passed under the guise that Phase 2 increase would be in line or less. Instead our dearly elected officials passed the highest public utility increase in the history of paso Robles….an astounding 53.7% over 5 years. The mismanagement of this issue is astounding. If you think the city cares about water then you just have to see them not turning off the sprinkler systems when we got all that rain.
What the director conveniently leaves out is the fact that when phase one was passed it was passed under the guise that Phase 2 increase would be in line or less. Instead our dearly elected officials passed the highest public utility increase in the history of paso Robles….an astounding 53.7% over 5 years. The mismanagement of this issue is astounding. If you think the city cares about water then you just have to see them not turning off the sprinkler systems when we got all that rain.
The letter states, "out of more than 10,000 customers, fewer than 700 opposed the rate increase." That is because they would only accept a mailed letter, not an email, a petition or a phone call and they said they would only reconsider if more than half the residents opposed. So that meant that people decided not to write letters and put a stamp on them because there was no way that 5,001 households would mail letters, so their effort would be wasted.
The FIX was in on this one! I hope the public remembers this and not vote for Martin or Hamon for district supervisor.
What the director conveniently leaves out is the fact that when phase one was passed it was passed under the guise that Phase 2 increase would be in line or less. Instead our dearly elected officials passed the highest public utility increase in the history of paso Robles….an astounding 53.7% over 5 years. The mismanagement of this issue is astounding. If you think the city cares about water then you just have to see them not turning off the sprinkler systems when we got all that rain.
What the director conveniently leaves out is the fact that when phase one was passed it was passed under the guise that Phase 2 increase would be in line or less. Instead our dearly elected officials passed the highest public utility increase in the history of paso Robles….an astounding 53.7% over 5 years. The mismanagement of this issue is astounding. If you think the city cares about water then you just have to see them not turning off the sprinkler systems when we got all that rain.
The letter states, "out of more than 10,000 customers, fewer than 700 opposed the rate increase." That is because they would only accept a mailed letter, not an email, a petition or a phone call and they said they would only reconsider if more than half the residents opposed. So that meant that people decided not to write letters and put a stamp on them because there was no way that 5,001 households would mail letters, so their effort would be wasted.
The FIX was in on this one! I hope the public remembers this and not vote for Martin or Hamon for district supervisor.