Helix Water District Notes Proposed Rate Hikes at Sparsely Attended Forum

In an effort to explain the proposed rate hike for its water customers, offered a public forum Thursday night, which was sparsely attended.

General Manager Mark Weston spoke to about 20 customers and gave a 45-minute slide show, which outlined the district's costs, revenues and future projections. He also offered an explanation as to why the proposed rate increase is on the table.

The main cause of the increase is that the cost of wholesale water, which the district purchases from the Metropolitan Water Authority, is going up. Weston added that the wholesale cost has increased by 76 percent over the last four years. The 16.5 percent cost increase this year represents about $3.8 million.

Wholesale water purchases account for about 39 percent of the district's yearly budget.

Weston did mention that with more significant runoff this year, the district would be able to defray some of that wholesale increase, as it would be buying less water.

The rate increase stands at about 5.9 percent for an "average"  domestic class customer who uses 24 units (1 unit = 748 gallons) in a two-month period, or about $6.46. Depending on where a customer falls in the rate structure tier, the increase ranges from 3-6.6 percent.  (See chart below.)

Weston also praised the HWD customers for their reduction in water usage over the past year. At approximately 106 gallons per person, per day, HWD customers have one of the lowest usage rates in the county. But that can often prove to be of no benefit to the ratepayer in terms of savings.

"Conservation does drive up the cost to a certain extent," Weston said. "There are fixed costs and overhead that need to be recovered in running the district. And there is less revenue with less water use."

One ratepayer spoke up that she and her husband have spent money on landscaping, xeriscaping, adding rocks and native plants and drastically reducing their water, but feel there is no benefit or reward from the district for doing so.

Weston replied that the benefit is that they will not have to pay as much as if they hadn't made those changes.

After his presentation, Weston fielded questions about the increase, but the discussion soon turned to that of the district's recent pension negotiations with its employees. La Mesa residents David Smyle, Russell Buckley and Gordon Place, of the district's pension system, chided Weston for the decision to raise rates.

Buckley said he was "sickened" by the increase, and asked how the district can call for an increase "when they haven't taken care of business" in terms of pension reform.

Place agreed, and said that the ratepayers were not represented in the negotiations, adding that it was a conflict of interest as both sides represented district employees. "Everyone was going to win—except the ratepayers," he said.

Smyle added, "It's a big feeding frenzy, and we're the ones being eaten."

When the discussion did return to the proposed rate increase, one ratepayer asked why the controversial and costly and sand mining weren't included in the district's future projections.

"The cost of that project hasn't been included because it hasn't been approved by the board," said Weston. "The EIR [environmental impact report] is not complete, and likely won't be for a few years. Once we know if we are moving forward, those costs will reflected in the new budgets."

The rate increase is still in a proposal phase and will not pass if at least 50 percent of ratepayers protest the increase. Protests letters must be written and mailed to or dropped off at the district:

Board Secretary
Attn: Public Hearing on Proposed Water rate Increases
Helix Water District
7811 University Avenue
La Mesa, CA 91942

According to the district, any written protest must: 1) state that the identified property owner or customer of record is opposed to the rate increase; 2) provide the location of the identified parcel; 3) include the name and signature of the property owner or customer of record.

Email or faxed protests will not be accepted as a qualified formal protest. All protests must be received prior to the conclusion of public comments at the Public Hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 17 at 2 p.m.

For more information on the increase or the protest process, call 619-466-0585 or visit hwd.com.

DOMESTIC CLASS COMMODITY RATE

GOVERNMENT, COMMERCIAL, MULTI-FAMILY CLASS COMMODITY RATE

IRRIGATION CLASS COMMODITY RATE

*1 unit = 100 cubic feet (HCF) = 748 gallons