Fair and Equitable Rate Structures

By David A Walker

The District currently charges a flat rate for all single-family residences regardless of actual water usage. However under the express terms of the Proposition 218, no fee or charge can be imposed or increased unless it meets all of the following requirements:

-The revenues derived from the fee do not exceed the funds necessary to
provide the property related service;
-The revenues are not used for any purpose other than that for which
the fee or charge was imposed; and
-The amount charged to "any parcel or person as an incident of property ownership" does not exceed the proportional cost of the service, which is attributable to the parcel (California Constitution, Article XIII D, Section 6(b)).

The charges collected by the District have no relationship to the actual costs of providing service to each parcel, in fact the district does nothing more than impose an arbitrary fee without regard for the actual cost of the service that is provided. Although there are many questions about Proposition 218 that remain unanswered the District must be prepared to institute a new system of charges, which will be compliant with its provisions. The District must also embark on a comprehensive and logical Construction and Replacement policy. The current policy (and the study on which it is based) envisions the expense of $218 million dollars in the year 2013, which is clearly unrealistic. If elected I will ask the Board to approve an update to the Districts Sewer System Master Plan which includes a logical and obtainable estimate of construction and replacement expenses through the year 2005.