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Water Bills Have Some Residents Fuming: Commissioners to Discuss Issue Only a Few Days Before City Election

Posted on: Thursday, 11 May 2006, 12:06 CDT

By Matt, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

May 11--HARLINGEN -- City commissioners and candidates for three commission seats agreed Wednesday that city officials should review an increase in sewer rates that has some local customers fuming over their water bills.

Commissioners will discuss the rise in sewer rates by the Harlingen WaterWorks System during a special commission meeting at 12:30 p.m. today.

WaterWorks General Manager Ron Thomas has said rates increased from $1.60 to $2.61 per 1,000 gallons for sewer service.

Place 1 incumbent J.J. Gonzalez, who last week called for the meeting along with Place 3 incumbent Frank Puente, said he did so after being inundated with comments from angry WaterWorks customers.

"Yes, we agreed to the rate changes last year, but we didn't realize the impact it was going to have on the citizens and what the increases were going to be on their bills," Gonzalez said. "Now that people are angry about their bills, it's time for us to reevaluate the process. I understand the fiscal responsibility we have, but we have to be fair and equitable to our citizens."

Although he agreed that the rates should be reviewed, commissioner Eddie Medrano questioned the timing and motivation behind the scheduled meeting.

"I believe the two commissioners who called this meeting did so for their own political gain just a few days before the city election and not because of any sincere concern they have for the welfare of our citizens," Medrano wrote in a release he asked to be read at the meeting because he could not attend.

"I am willing to review and audit the implementation of the new water and sewer rates to make sure no citizen is being overcharged under the new rates. But any commissioner that now claims these rate increases are not necessary or were a mistake is being dishonest with the citizens of Harlingen and is playing politics for his own personal gain," Medrano wrote.

Place 1 candidate Joe Rubio said commissioners must review the rates and take whatever steps available to ease the burden on WaterWorks customers.

"The first thing I would do is figure out our legal standing and call for an investigation," he said. "The second thing I would do is review the current water rates and possibly sell extra water resources to make up for the difference. Also, a few years ago the city bought additional water rights and we have an abundant amount. We should look at what water rights we have and re-evaluate whether we need them."

Place 1 candidate Larry Galbreath said he felt the commission was doing all it could to remedy the situation.

"We're going to have to trust the WaterWorks and the commission because they represent the city as a whole," he said. "They have more facts and figures and inside information that I don't have."

Even if rates remain unchanged, WaterWorks officials should do their best to help customers reduce their monthly bills, Place 2 candidate Bobby Farris said.

"I would do everything in my power to make sure that no one is being overcharged for their water and sewer service. I would insist that the WaterWorks inform our citizens of all of the options they have to reduce their rates," he said. "No one wants to pay more than is necessary, but we all need to pay enough to maintain the high quality of water we have today."

Place 2 candidate Kori Marra said it is a commissioner's responsibility to listen to the concerns of local citizens.

"As a leader of the community, you are expected to accept that there could be a problem and that you'll look things over again and make changes," she said. "It needs to be done rather quickly, because people are having problems paying their bills and they can't go without water."

Puente said that while the rates were explained to commissioners before the increase, there was no way of knowing just how much the increase would affect consumers.

"The plan was a well thought-out plan, and it looked good on paper," he said. "You can have a great business plan on paper, but once you implement the project it doesn't work out like you want it to. Ultimately, I answer to the citizens of Harlingen and I've raised this concern because they have."

Commissioners would continue to examine the rate increase and why the hike affected some customers and not others, Place 3 challenger Jay Meade said.

"We're all looking into it, and obviously we're interested in the issue. But we need a lot more information to look at in order to come up with some solutions," he said. "In fairness to the citizens who were impacted, we need to keep looking at it until there is a solution."

Commissioner Chris Boswell said a solution could be reached by examining the three months WaterWorks officials used to determine average sewer usage.

"WaterWorks took November, December and January as a usage period, but because it was very dry, those numbers might not be entirely accurate," he said. "It's one of those problems that we need to get in and look at what we did and adjust it if necessary."

Mayor Rick Rodriguez said commissioners must find a compromise between assisting customers who are faced with higher bills and paying for improvements to the WaterWorks System.

"It's a matter of exploring what options there are. We've already locked into a rate and a lot of the financing for other projects is based on this rate," he said. "We have to determine if we were to change the rate, what affect a change would have on those projects."

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Copyright (c) 2006, Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas

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Source: Valley Morning Star (Harlingen, Texas)

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