四 川 铁 FourRiverIron

Valley cities raise service fees in bad economy

As communities hike rates, residents struggle to pay for water, sewer, trash

by John Yantis - Sept. 25, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

The sluggish economy is forcing Valley cities to raise water, sewer and trash fees, leaving residents struggling to pay for necessary services.

So far this year, cities including Phoenix, Peoria, Buckeye, Queen Creek and Tolleson have raised fees for their water and/or trash services.

In Tempe and Gilbert, city and town councils have set in motion proposed hikes for water and wastewater. In Goodyear, a decision on whether to raise trash rates was put off until January.

In some cases, residents fortunate enough to avoid hits this year already took the brunt of hikes in 2009 and 2010. For example, Avondale hiked water-service deposits in November, and Glendale raised water and sewer fees in April 2010. Goodyear residents south of Interstate 10 saw water and sewer rates increase in early 2010.

Many of the most recent increases in city water and sewer rates are the result of the state Legislature shifting onto municipalities $6.3 million in funding support for the Arizona Department of Water Resources, which secures water supplies for the state.

Lawmakers, in the midst of a huge deficit, passed the cost along to cities and towns.

The money is an assessment to cities to operate the department, said Ken Strobeck, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns.

"That was a state-required fee," he said. "We didn't have any choice about whether to pay that or not."

Some cities, including Mesa, have passed all of those costs onto utility customers. Others are putting only a portion of the costs onto the bills of residents.

While residents are seeing higher bills for services that are generally considered necessary, they are also facing higher city fees for services that are often considered voluntary, from recreation classes and ramada and sports-field rentals to increased parking charges at festivals and trailheads.

Some cities hold the line

Chandler decided last month against raising water bills this year, but has raised water rates three times since 2007, most recently in April.

Officials decided the city could pay the state fees for a while from reserve funds and put off charging residents until the next rate adjustment in a year or more.

In Scottsdale, water and trash fees were left unchanged in May, but there were some incremental increases to planning and development fees, and at aquatic and fitness centers.

After years of increases in Glendale, the city decided to freeze rates on sewer and water this budget year despite a consultant's report in 2010 that recommended raising fees.

In Surprise, even the city is fighting a proposed 82 percent water-rate increase by Arizona American Water Company.

The City Council recently voted to help fight the proposed hike and is paying an expert on utility rates $10,000 to help them.

The case is before the Arizona Corporation Commission, which has regulatory authority over the increase. Commissioners will conduct hearings about the proposed rate into the fall.

If approved, the rate would affect most of the city, adding about $25 per month to the average bill of $30.

In Gilbert, which approved its intent to raise water fees beginning in December, Town Council members are considering sending residents a note telling them the 54-cents-a-month increase is a legislative mandate.

'Lot of belt-tightening'

Cities don't look at the general economy and decide whether or not to raise fees, Strobeck said.

City utilities including water, wastewater and garbage services are most often operated as enterprise funds, which are not funded through taxes. The service is expected to pay for itself through fees.

"If there are changes in fees, there are probably changes in the cost of the resource," Strobeck said, citing examples that include increased water costs, upgrades to wastewater-treatment facilities and increased dumping fees.

Cities often have subsidized the costs of fees so rates are artificially low for customers, Strobeck said. In some cases, cities may be using less money from their general funds to subsidize the service, and are asking consumers to pay for the actual cost of the service.

"None of these things are done arbitrarily and certainly are not done to be in any way punitive to the residents," Strobeck said.

Cities have lost an average of 25 to 30 percent of their revenue in the last four years, he said.

"There's been an awful lot of belt-tightening that has had to occur, and it's very difficult to lose more than a quarter of your revenue and still deliver the same level of service," Strobeck said.

'Hurting' in Tolleson

Tolleson resident Jim White said he spoke to his city two weeks ago about a recent increase in water bills. On Friday, he was washing his car and a sprinkler was watering his front yard on Christa Way in the Tolsun Farms subdivision.

"I told them, 'You're going to get a lot more brown yards and less revenue,' " White said, adding that he is considering graveling a grass bridle trail in front of his home. He also recently installed low-flow toilets.

In August, the Tolleson City Council approved a hike in water rates. Water deposits and turn-on and turn-off fees are also rising.

The hike is because of a rate increase by Phoenix, which supplies Tolleson with 85 percent of its water.

White, 71, and his wife use about 17,000 gallons of water monthly. He said his bill went from $30 to $45.

White is happy with his city services, which run about $100 a month for water and sewer service and trash, recycling and green-waste pickup.

But at one time, bulk-trash pickup was weekly. Now, it gets picked up twice a year, he said. And a recycling bin that was once free about a year ago is now $7.50 a month.

"We're not dying for money," White said. "But there are people in Tolleson here who are really hurting, and on top of everything else, they're getting a $15 water increase."

Joe Oviedo, 55, who has lived in Avondale for more than 40 years, said the hikes are simply the cost of doing business.

And he says he'd rather pay the city for water and trash than a private company.

His bill for city services is between $115 and $120 monthly, a number that has remained fairly constant over 10 years, he said.

"There's nothing I can do to fight a board of directors," Oviedo said. "At least with the city, I can fight elected officials."