Water Rate Increase Frequently Asked Questions

Questions posted from GWP Customers

Q: If you want a rate increase we need to know where the money is going.

• What if any salary increases are there over the next 5 years?
• What if any benefit increases are there over the next 5 years?
• What are current pension payouts?
• What is the projection over the next 5 years for increases in the pension payouts?

A: The rate increase is recommended by utility management to keep the water utility financially viable. The utility faces many expenses during the course of providing potable water to residents, and employees’ salaries & benefits represent approximately 15% of the total. Salaries and benefits are negotiated on an annual basis and it is difficult to predict what will be agreed to for next year, or any future year. During the last three years salaries have remained flat, and the employees have paid more to keep the same benefits, thus reducing the City’s cost. Complete information on the various utility expenses is available in the presentations made to Council, by clicking on this link to view the City Council’s special meeting on November 29th. The presentations will be presented again at the three informational community meetings.

Q: We believe any tiered plan should take into account documented water conservation efforts implemented by the property owner. Failure to acknowledge such efforts is an insult to us and all property owners who have taken seriously GWP's message to conserve. This acknowledgement could be a small credit on the monthly bill or even a different tier for those who have implemented conservation efforts. We would like a copy of the proposed water rate restructuring using the proposed tiered levels to learn more about what is being proposed. Is it available on line? If not, please send us a copy.

A: The Prop. 218 notice which lists all of the proposed tiered structures is being mailed to customers the week of December 13th. You can also see the notice by clicking here.

On the notice there are also three community meetings listed. We encourage you to attend these meetings and ask more questions. In response to the water conservation efforts made by our customers, we greatly appreciate our customers efforts during mandatory conservation. Many of our customers adapted to this new type of lifestyle of watering three days a week and continue to do so even after mandatory conservation was lifted. We encourage our customers to keep conserving and by doing so they also reduce their bills. With the proposed tiered system the first two tiers effectively lower the rate for those who have conserved. The tiers are higher for those that use more water, thus encouraging those that use more water to also conserve.

Q. Are your new rates eliminating the water adjustment charge? Your percentage increases will skyrocket if you add a Water Adj. Charge that I am sure will increase with time. If the Water Adjustment Charge stays at least show a figure even the existing rate.

A. Under the proposed Water Rate Redesign the current Water Adjustment Charge (WAC) s incorporated into the Water Commodity Charge. Therefore, for bill comparison purposes the current WAC is zeroed out. Future semi-annual WAC increases due primarily to purchased water from the Metropolitan Water District and for the cost of pumping groundwater would increase the WAC from its new zero base.