Amador County – About 20 people attended an Amador Water Agency rate hearing Monday, with the board thwarted for the second time in a year by a Proposition 218 petition against raising rates in Camanche Water Improvement District Number 7. AWA Finance Manager Mike Lee said the proposal included an internal loan of $800,000 from the Amador Water System next fiscal year to help correct a $618,000 deficit in Camanche District 7, a district with 730 meters and 350 vacant lots. Camanche Homeowners Association President Mark Krisman and others presented 439 signatures on a Proposition 218 petition opposing the rate hike. The proposal was to raise rates 9 percent a year for the next 4 years, and 64 percent total over 8 fiscal years. Director Terence Moore said: “When I heard that you had 439 votes, I was angry. Not at you but at the process.” Moore said AWA should ask the state Legislature to change the system, because “there’s got to be some kind of rate increase.” One Camanche resident urged AWA to think outside the box for a solution of increased water. Moore said they did that, looking into teaming on a treatment plant and new pipeline with East Bay Municipal Utility District, but it was “extremely expensive,” and without a funding source. They will also try to pursue a partnership with the Buena Vista casino, should it be built. Director Don Cooper said it was a difficult situation and the board needs to look to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., because of regulation “costs bourn by customers.” He said “we need to push back on the state a little more, particularly” with the USDA grant for a storage tank which is “not 100 percent,” and comes with a 40-year loan, a “type of restriction that is untenable in this kind of economy.” Cooper said “when we talk about infusing $800,000 into the system,” he expected support from Camanche residents who understand “overhead.” Director Gary Thomas said he believes in the 218 process, but they cannot buy new tanks without a funding source, and nearly 4 years without a rate hike at Camanche “has really put us in the hole.” AWA Vice President Debbie Dunn lauded the group for “telling the people that are representing you what you want.” Board President Bill Condrashoff said: “You told us you are not going to give us any more money by submitting your petition.” He said “this agency will do something. We’ll figure something out, and I think there will be more communication now.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. -
font size
decrease font size
increase font size
Amador County – About 20 people attended an Amador Water Agency rate hearing Monday, with the board thwarted for the second time in a year by a Proposition 218 petition against raising rates in Camanche Water Improvement District Number 7. AWA Finance Manager Mike Lee said the proposal included an internal loan of $800,000 from the Amador Water System next fiscal year to help correct a $618,000 deficit in Camanche District 7, a district with 730 meters and 350 vacant lots. Camanche Homeowners Association President Mark Krisman and others presented 439 signatures on a Proposition 218 petition opposing the rate hike. The proposal was to raise rates 9 percent a year for the next 4 years, and 64 percent total over 8 fiscal years. Director Terence Moore said: “When I heard that you had 439 votes, I was angry. Not at you but at the process.” Moore said AWA should ask the state Legislature to change the system, because “there’s got to be some kind of rate increase.” One Camanche resident urged AWA to think outside the box for a solution of increased water. Moore said they did that, looking into teaming on a treatment plant and new pipeline with East Bay Municipal Utility District, but it was “extremely expensive,” and without a funding source. They will also try to pursue a partnership with the Buena Vista casino, should it be built. Director Don Cooper said it was a difficult situation and the board needs to look to Sacramento and Washington, D.C., because of regulation “costs bourn by customers.” He said “we need to push back on the state a little more, particularly” with the USDA grant for a storage tank which is “not 100 percent,” and comes with a 40-year loan, a “type of restriction that is untenable in this kind of economy.” Cooper said “when we talk about infusing $800,000 into the system,” he expected support from Camanche residents who understand “overhead.” Director Gary Thomas said he believes in the 218 process, but they cannot buy new tanks without a funding source, and nearly 4 years without a rate hike at Camanche “has really put us in the hole.” AWA Vice President Debbie Dunn lauded the group for “telling the people that are representing you what you want.” Board President Bill Condrashoff said: “You told us you are not going to give us any more money by submitting your petition.” He said “this agency will do something. We’ll figure something out, and I think there will be more communication now.” Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
News Archive
Latest from Tom
- Richard Forster previews this week's Amador County Board of Supervisors meeting with host, Tom Slivick. (2 of 2)
- Richard Forster on TSPN TV News December 7, 2015 (1 of 2)
- Ebbetts Pass (State Route 4) Closed for Winter
- State HWY 89 Closed for the Winter
- Richard Forster on TSPN TV News November 23, 2015 (2 of 2)
