While Maricopa residents and members of homeowners associations have been included in multiple meetings held by Global Water executives to discuss their application for a rate increase, perhaps the utility’s largest customer has been left in the dark.
“They met with us once eight months ago to tell us they were going to ask for a rate increase,” said Aron Rausch, Maricopa Unified School District’s business manager. At that meeting Rausch said the utility didn’t provide information on what type of increase they were seeking or how it would affect the district. “They basically told us they were looking for an increase to build more infrastructure.”
Since that time, the district has not heard from their water and sewer provider. While Rausch and other employees in the district have not sat down to analyze the effects the rate increase will have on the district, he said any dollar the utility takes would be a dollar taken away from the education of Maricopa’s youth.
“We were cut $400,000 earlier this year and now are facing another cut of about $800,000,” Rausch said. “Our budget is so tight there really is no place left to trim but staff.”
Currently, the district has $250,000 budgeted for water use. But if numbers figured by HOAs are correct, the amount due to Global Water could nearly double on an annual basis.
One of the district’s eight schools served by Global Water, Maricopa Elementary School, used about 300,000 gallons of water in October at a cost of roughly $675. If the new rate structure is approved in full, that cost would increase to $1,442.
This increase doesn’t include the anticipated doubling of the sewer connection fees or the increase in the flat hook-up fee for water service. While Rausch has not specifically researched the impact the increase will have on the district, he has looked at the current rates Global Water charges and compared them to other districts. “They are already more expensive; it just doesn’t make sense.”
He said that all of the districts he has worked for, and many he has talked to across the state, get a discounted rate on water and sewer services, but Global Water is unwilling to talk with the district about such a proposition.
“More successful schools lead to a more attractive community, which means more customers for Global Water,” Rausch sad. “You would think they would want to work with us.”
Rausch was at the recent Arizona Corporation Commission hearing held in Maricopa Dec. 1, and listened to the community’s dissatisfaction with its water provider. “I was shocked; not one person had something favorable to say about the company,” he said. “They seem to have very poor customer service.”
MUSD’s facility director, John Sampson, agreed with Rausch’s assessment of the water provider and added during the past year the school has had three issues with the company shutting off the water.
“They will shut the water down to do work and not tell us,” he said. On one of those occasions, Sampson said school was in operation, and he was not able to figure out what was going on. They didn’t get the water back up for an hour, he said.
“You would think they would communicate with us if they are going to do something that is going to affect our water service,” he said. “It is amazing this company does not communicate with us.”
Rausch is in the process of drafting a letter to the Arizona Corporation Commission opposing any rate increase for the utility company. However, if an increase is approved, he said the district would have to begin looking at removing landscaping and determining if they are indeed using best water management practices.
“We have a lot of water-savings devices like waterless urinals and sinks that operate on pressure times, but we haven’t had the time to analyze every water-using device,” Sampson said.
In a rate amendment filed Friday, Global Water has pledged to spend $150,000 each year for the next five years to implement water-conservation practices for its larger water users. "This could involve showing them how to get on recycled water so their actual bill decreases," said Paul Walker, a spokesman for Global Water. Walker added that the company has had many hearings and hasn't heard any concerns from the school district, but would be more than willing to work with them if they came forward.  |
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