posting on behalf of Kim Rosenberg loretta.kim.rosenberg@gmail.com
It seems that some folks have been promised that the water referendum on this November’s ballot will return us to quarterly billing and the old water allotment. This information isn’t true but it’s consistent with the narrative and general mistrust of city government that some folks feel regardless of who’s on council.
First off, the only thing we’ll be voting on is monthly versus quarterly billing. That’s it. We’ll know what the rates will be when the new water study is complete.
In a June 30, 2024, post on the Pioneer’s website the referendum’s author, Randy Kugler, suggests that the base residential charge be capped at $142.68 per quarter reflecting the current monthly rate and that the water allotment per quarter be 12,000 gallons of water irrespective of use. That’s not on the ballot and it’s not what we’re voting on no matter what you’ve heard.
When we switched from quarterly to monthly billing, the base water allotment changed from 4,000 to 2,000 gallons per month. In the post Kugler writes, “The result is large numbers of full time resident households now paying monthly surcharges for exceeding, 2000 gallons.”
The data from the August Council meeting shows that an overwhelming majority of water users—about 75% of us—use 2,000 gallons monthly except during the summer months. A tiered rate schedule was adopted so, if you use more, you pay more. In our house we’ve used about 3,000 gallons of water monthly during the summer. We’re a full time 2 person one puppy family, we garden, we have bird baths and I like to do laundry. So, in our house we’re paying a little more.
But why should a full time resident expect to pay less for water? Does a full time resident get a better deal on electricity? Does a full time resident get a better deal from Recology? Does a full time resident pay less for any utility or service?
We pay for what we use and if we want to pay less, we can choose to use less. We can conserve.
You know who uses a lot of water? Second homes used as short term rentals. They’d be the ones to benefit from a 12,000 gallon water allotment.
In addition to water that guests use while visiting for bathing, dishwashing, cooking and toilet flushing—every time there’s a check out, sheets and towels, bathmats, kitchen towels, sometimes bedspreads and mattress covers are washed. Some vacation houses are booked almost every night in the summer and early fall. That’s a whole lot more water use than what full time folks use, and it makes sense that everyone pays their fair share of what the water actually costs. We all should.
The tiered rate system charges according to use and billing monthly allows consumers to keep track of their use and pay accordingly.
Why would we give such a large water allotment and charge the same rate to folks using less? It doesn’t make sense to me.
If the TLT money is used to pay for a shortfall in water rates, as was suggested in recent posts, the General Fund will be shorted instead. I think you call it robbing Peter to pay Paul.
I plan to tune in and watch the Council Work Session on September 11 when they’ll be discussing the new water study. I hope you do too!
Here’s a link to the water usage information.
ci.manzanita.or.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/WATER-USAGE-OCT23-JULY24-v2.pdf
Kim Rosenberg loretta.kim.rosenberg@gmail.com
