Our Public Service Board and water utility were formed in the 1950’s if my information is correct. I do not know which Texas laws they operate under so my thoughts here may be inappropriate. Maybe a reader will be able to better inform us.
Texas law allows municipal water utilities to assess charges for various purposes but they all seem to directly relate to the construction, maintenance, and operation of water distribution. There are provisions that allow for fees for wastewater and storm water as well as water replacement. Once again, all of the permitted charges appear to relate to water.
Our city council voted the other day to impose a charge on “non residential” customers of the water utility. Council’s discussion clearly showed us that they wanted the fee for the city’s general fund, not for any water related activity.
I suspect that in the coming weeks we will see discussion about the nature of the new charge and whether the water utility can legally impose the bill on the “non residential” customers. Listening to the city council meeting where this charge was discussed we can clearly see that their purpose in imposing the fee was to raise more revenue for the general fund, not to improve the water utility system.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
Hey, someone’s gotta pay for the ballpark…
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Oh, you mean the ballpark which no one else can use even in the off-season unless they pay Woody and Paul, whose annual lease payment is peanuts. Mountainstar’s contract with the city is even more lopsided than people realize. I’m betting that Brutus is going to shed some light on that sometime soon. If and when he does, it’s going to be a shocker, even to those who think they read the contract closely when it was first released.
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Of course this is just to get more money for their wish list. Meanwhile, I saw no evidence of any effort to control their spending, or to cut any department’s budget for the upcoming year. I wonder how many of our Council members manage their own money in this fashion…
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City council has become expert at shell games, ponzi schemes, deception, and misdirection. Schools will also have to pay the new non-residential water fee. So, who will end up paying this additional operating expense for schools? You and me. Businesses will also raise prices to cover the new water fee. Who will pay those increased prices? You and me. This is all a deception to avoid calling it a tax increase, which members of council feel would cost them votes and might even result in some recalls.
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The El Paso Electric Co. does something similar.
Found that out after a friend moved his business to his home.
Same equipment, same everything else, but noticed that his electric bill was about HALF of what it was with a business account.
Now, many many years ago, salesmen used to check into a motel and ask for the “Business rate” or “commercial rate” which was LESS than the family-vacation-personal rate.
(Families on vacation do not HAVE TO travel, but salesmen and businesspersons do, so therefore the understanding of the “Business rate.”)
So, I always thought the “Business rate” of things. . . . were generally at a discount, because a BUSINESS was trying to make money, etc.
Well, I was wrong.
The El Paso Electric Co. charges about 1/3 MORE for electric power at a business, than at a home.
So you might as well rent a house, right behind your business and put your heavy equipment THERE and use residential rates rather than pay for the “Business rate”.
Then I found out that a Business, in a business location, also pays Texas Sales Tax on the electric power,
where a home/residential account DOES NOT pay Sales Tax on the electric power.
Those that have a “Business Account” at the El Paso Electric Co. but have the business at HOME could save about HALF converting to a “Residential Account.”
Business Account is now opposite what it meant in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Now, it means you will be charged MORE.
So, the CITY wants to do something like that to the Water accounts.
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Lets see. . . . MY residential El Paso Electric Co. rate for the “summer” is $ .08745 per KW Hour.
Just round that to 9 cents per KW Hour.
plus some sort of “Fuel Charge.”
Those of you with a “Business or Commerical” Electric bill,
What is your “summer” rate per KW Hour?
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It seems to me that the city’s legal department is at fault here. This question should have been researched when Council first brought it up. The water surcharge / fee needs to be abandoned and replaced with either a budget cut or an increase in bridge fees and an assessment to commercial trash haulers.
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I watched the video and saw that the city attorney stepped in. What they passed was a “franchise tax” which on the face of it is legal. Council “recommended” that the PSB only charge the “non-residential” customers. The PSB is free to dole out the charge however they wish.
We all know that this is a tax. Council admitted it. Under this plan the schools will have to pay the franchise fee and thus will pass it on to the property owners.
Brutus
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