Twenty Questions

Congratulations Citizens! The Mayor and City Council voted to repeal the Water Tax LID and hold an election. Now we can have a discussion on the merits of the purchase. Before making an informed decision a number of questions need to be answered. The following questions were selected from citizen comments on eaglewatertax.com:

Rates The cost including interest is now estimated at over $14 million dollars. How much will rates go up if the City buys the company? Some have estimated up to a 200% increase.

Repairs & Upgrades How much will it cost to fix old pipes, replace defective equipment, and perform needed upgrades? A PUC report estimates $1.5 million dollars. Where will the money come from to pay these costs? Where is the pro-forma budget that clearly outlines where the money comes from and where it will be spent.

Appraisals What do independent appraisals say the value is?

Politics What will prevent the water company from becoming a political weapon used by those in power to reward friends and punish the opposition?

Hookups How much will new hookup fees increase?

Oversight If the city is exempt from PUC oversight, to whom will the City answer on future rate increases and complaints?

Profits Who gets the profits? Will the City fund pet projects with water company revenues? We need to understand that any excess revenues will be maintained in a separate account, to be used strictly for existing service repairs and upgrades, or be returned to water service customers in the form of rebates.

Fairness Why do all citizens in Eagle get to vote if only a portion are subject to the tax? Is this a case of representation without taxation? If this is to be viewed as an Eagle-wide asset, then a method for charging ALL Eagle taxpayers needs to be understood.

Service Area Will the City guarantee that the water from this purchase will not serve new areas outside the present city limits?

Management Currently the city spends around $300,000 a year for United Water to manage the City’s existing water company. The City does not have the competence to operate the new company. Will the City have them manage the new company as well and at what rate?

Bond Fees The City has estimated the bonding fee to be $550,000. Are there other bids to provide this service?

Engineering So Far, the City reports spending more than $250,000 for engineering, legal, CPA and other fees and we have not yet approved the EWC purchase. How much more will be expected, and who pays these costs?

Down Payment In the Asset Purchase Agreement, the City committed to spending $400,000 before the closing to make improvements. How much has been spent so far?

Fire Hydrants Will those homeowners close to fire hydrants still get a bill like the LID?

Private Enterprise Because of the lack of incentives, government-run enterprises typically cost 40 percent more to run than private enterprises. Why does the City think they can do a better job than private enterprise in operating this company?

Growth It seems like current users will be buying a water company for new development. Will existing users be subsidizing new development? Certainly for each new meter added to the water system, each existing customer should see a reduction in their bill.

Meters Are all users currently metered so actual use can be measured and billed for?

Elderly Are seniors with fixed-incomes given a break?

Full Disclosure Has Eagle Water Company given elected officials any other gifts or contributions?

United Water If rates are going up regardless of who buys the company, why not let United Water buy it? Unlike the City, they have management and engineering experience and are not a bureaucracy.

The election is planned for May 27th. Hopefully the City will have the answers by then for us to make a good decision.