Additional notes on campaign
statement by Alan Day:
"EID water rates have nearly DOUBLED
over the last 8 years"
Summary comment:
This is an enormous stretch of actual rate data. The upper graph below shows actual versus claimed
rate increases since 2003 and 2004. Actual rates are graphed relative to 2004
to show actual percentage increases since Harry Norris joined the board as Division 5
Director.
The
upper graph below shows actual versus claimed
rate increases since 2003 and 2004. Actual rates are graphed from 2004
to show increases since Harry Norris joined the board as Division 5
Director.
The lower bar graph below compares Sacramento-area water rates. EID
wastewater rates are still at low end of the range. Two years ago they
had been the lowest water rates in the region. In this comparison, the
City of Placerville's charges are 2.4 times EID's charges.
Summarized
in a table, actual
rate increases were much less than "almost doubling" from 2003 to 2011.
The actual data is tabulated for 2004-2011, recognizing that 2004 was
the baseline year when Harry Norris joined the board and participated
in setting rates for 2005.
| Case | Date range | Cost increase based on water use per month |
| 500 cf | 1,000 cf | 2,000 cf |
| Alan Day's statement: "...rates have nearly doubled" | 2003-2011 | almost 100% | almost 100% | almost 100% |
| Actual rate changes for Harry Norris' terms | 2004-2011 | 28.2% | 46.0% | 72.1% |
| Average actual rate increase per year | 2004-2011 | 4.0% | 6.6% | 10.3% |
Actual rates in the table are for residential use with a ¾ inch water meter.
Update: Comparison of claims by Alan Day and J. Smith versus actual percentage increases.
Choice
of 2,000 cubic feet consumption per 2-month billing period is midway
between this web author's own high summer and low winter use.
Additional
notes:
Amount of rate increases
Rate
changes from 2005 through 2007 were moderate. Restructuring of rates
for different consumption tiers in 2009 produced rate decreases
for customers with low to moderate consumption. The relatively
larger
increases in 2009 and 2010 were special adjustments responding to need
to maintain minimum debt service ratios, which mainly involved revenue
from new hookups almost completely going to zero as a result of "The
Great Recession".
In
2009 long term planning produced projections for rates to rise by 5% in
each of 2012 and 2013. Those increases are tentative, actual changes
are not adopted until near the end of each year.
Rate Increases, assignment of board responsibility
Earlier
boards generally used relatively large sporadic rate increases. The
current board is instead increasing rates more gradually.
Rate increases should be expected as long as inflation exists and
infrastructure ages enough to require replacement and upgrading. The
Consumer Price Index probably is a fair guide to increasing labor cost
per employee. As population growth resumes it is reasonable to expect
need to hire additional staff. EID employment currently is pared
down to a minimum level, with further effective reduction by furlough
days.
