Last week, the Vanguard showed that the Rancho Yolo ratepayers are actually advantaged under the water rate system and will pay far less at the Multi-Family Rate (MFR) than the Single-Family Rate (SFR).
“Rather we have been protesting the rate of increase as compared to the single-family rate of increase,” Mr. Hallee claims. “The city’s rate consultant provided me cost data just a few days ago that confirms our view: the single-family rate increases 5.8 percent in 2013 and 18.8 percent in 2014 while the multi-family rate increases 19.2 percent and 47.1 percent for the same years.”
He argues, “So the seniors of Rancho Yolo, currently classified in the multi-family rate category, will have much higher percentage increases per residence in 2013 and 2014 than single-family residences.”
As reported last week, the Vanguard learned that that system is not set up to be a single family unit. It is plumbed much like an apartment, with connections to city water on East Eighth Street and Pole Line Road.
Moreover, Mr. Hallee continues only to look at the rates, rather than the metered costs.
In order to charge at SFR, they would have to individually meter their 262 homes. The monthy fixed rate for that is about $4,540.46.
Right now, Rancho Yolo pays $236.26 per month for its master meter that serves all 262 homes.
The MFR rate, while higher than the SFR rate, still advantages all of the MFR users. If they were to billed as an SFR, the first 18 ccf would be billed at $1.23, then the next 11 at $1.37 and all of the rest above 29 would be billed at $2.33, far higher than the $1.81.
Mr. Hallee, however, contends that the numbers we provided do not match that from the city.
He writes, “The final statement by Matt Williams that Rancho Yolo would be charged in Tier 3 if we were under the single-family rate classification in no way appears to match the figures given to us by the city last week. Rancho Yolo’s average total monthly consumption would place us almost totally in Tier 1. To double-check our calculations, we are meeting again with the rate consultant.”
Meanwhile, we continue to ask the city council to be fair, by placing Rancho Yolo in a mobile home rate class, as it does for all of our other utility charges.
In an email to one of the Rancho Yolo residents, Utilities Manager Herb Niederberger explained that Mr. Jerry Hallee, representing Rancho Yolo, met with the city’s rate consultant and staff, as well as with Mr. Niederberger, to discuss the rate increase impacts to Rancho Yolo.
Mr. Niederberger writes: “During our meeting, staff and consultants were able to discuss the cost of service issues and the allocation of those costs to multi-family users, apartments and mobile home parks. One of the results we were able to show Mr. Hallee was that, on average, the residents of Rancho Yolo were paying much lower unit costs that the average single family residence.”
He notes that in 2011, the typical Rancho Yolo unit averaged $14 per month and would go up to $17 per month with the first water rate increase.
“The current average single family home’s monthly costs are calculated to be about $33/month and will go to $35/month with the first increase,” he writes.
Mr. Hallee is arguing for a special mobile home rate class, but it is unclear why he is doing so. Right now and even with the rate increases, Rancho Yolo ratepayers are paying less than half of what a single family home would be paying for water.
What he characterizes as a huge rate increase (19 percent) is actually the increase from $14 per month to $17. That is less than half of what single family homes pay for the same amount of water.
What is unclear is how a mobile home rate would differ, but it seems like Mr. Hallee would be arguing for the SFR, with the MFR fixed rates.
But, as Matt Williams noted, that would produce a larger bill, as well. The first 18 ccf will be billed at $1.23, the next 11 will be billed at $1.37 and all the ccf above 29 will be billed at $2.33. That would be a considerably higher rate than the $1.81 MFR are currently being charged.
At some point this issue gets beaten to death. The bottom line is that right now the residents of Rancho Yolo receive a benefit from the system in place, and that benefit will continue under the new rate structure even though their monthly costs will go up – as everyone else’s will.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
If I understand this, Rancho Yolo seniors will see an increase in their
rents of $3/month for water the first year, then the next year another increase of $3 or $4 per month for water.
If true, this is hardly earthshaking.
I don’t actually know what Mr. Hallee is asking for, but I can try for a good guess. I think he wants to be charged for the MFR fixed/meter rate but have each unit charged at the SFR variable rate even though they are not metered that way so as to have each unit able to use a tier 1 amount of water before entering tier 2. Since they are not individually metered it would have to be taken as an average of total water/# units, which has been shown would be much more since the only way that would be fair is if each unit payed as if it had its own meter for the fixed metered rate. Otherwise, that would fall under having your cake and eating it too.
[quote] Otherwise, that would fall under having your cake and eating it too. [/quote]IMHO, you hit the proverbial nail on the head… as Orwell wrote in ‘Animal Farm’, “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”.