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March 28, 2024 9:29 am
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Outgoing MVWD Board Approves Water Rate Increase

By Vernon Robison

Moapa Valley Progress

Culinary water rates in Moapa Valley are poised for a moderate increase in the coming months. In a meeting held Thursday, November 4, the Moapa Valley Water District board of directors approved a three percent increase to water rates. The increase will become effective January 1, 2011.

The rate hike is part of the implementation of a comprehensive rate study completed for the district by Red Oak Consultants in 2006. The study made rate projections based on existing rates at the time, anticipated revenues and proposed expenditures. A program of gradual rate increases over a period of several years was recommended based on projected annual increases in labor costs, electric power usage, equipment and supply costs and planned capital improvements. The study recommended a rate increase of three percent for fiscal years (FY) 2009 and 2010 and seven percent each year for FY 2011-2014.

In implementing this plan, board passed a 4% increase in FY 2009 and an additional 3% for FY 2010.

But at the November 2 meeting, despite the study’s recommendation to more drastically increase rates by seven percent in FY 2011, MVWD staff recommended scaling back the increase to three percent. According to MVWD General Manager Brad Huza this was because of a trend in recent years of lower expenditures for district operations than had been budgeted.

“We are running about as lean an organization as is possible and that has worked well for us,” Huza said. “We have not had too many major waterline breaks in the past few years. Those kinds of things can really stretch the budget unexpectedly. And we have a staff of very dedicated, hard working people who all buy in to fiscal responsibility. We looked at the numbers and we just didn’t feel that a seven percent increase was justified.”

The board’s decision on the increase came just two days after a general election and only a few weeks before a major change to the MVWD board of directors. With the election results, three of the five board seats will be filled by new members.

Newly elected board members, who won’t be taking up their duties until January, were guarded in their comments about the decision to increase rates.

“I don’t think that I can comment on this increase until I’ve had a chance to look more at the inner workings of the district,” said Logandale board member-elect Scott Carson. “But part of the reason I ran for the board was to look at water rates and examine what affects these increases. I think that the new board will certainly take a close look at this and all future increases to see if they are really justified or not.”

“I think that it is important that people know just who raised the rates here,” said Randy Tobler, who was elected to fill the Overton four year seat. “Under the circumstances, they might end up thinking that it was us (the new board) but we haven’t even started yet.”

“My concern will be whether the current board looked at everything in this decision,” Tobler continued. “Before raising rates you should look pretty carefully at whether you can cut something here or there that would avoid the increase. That is the first thing that you want to do. I hope that they did that and didn’t just go pushing things through.”

The 2011 increase is expected to raise the water bill of the average Moapa Valley ratepayer by about $1.98 per month. The new rates are expected to raise annual revenues to the district by approximately $75,000.

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