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At the city of Pleasanton’s request, Zone 7 Water Agency officials will host a workshop at 5 p.m. Monday to provide information and answer customers’ questions about water rates and the agency’s overall function.
Billed an informational meeting on water rates, it will be held at the organization’s office at 100 North Canyons Parkway in Livermore.
Osborn Solitei, Zone 7’s assistant general manager of finance, will start the workshop with a 30- to 45-minute presentation that will highlight the agency’s mission, water supply and funding sources, capital infrastructure needs and method for setting water rates.
He will then open the meeting up to questions from residents. Representatives from Zone 7’s retailers the cities of Pleasanton and Livermore, Dublin San Ramon Services District and the California Water Service Company are expected to be on hand for the question-and-answer session.
“We’re trying to give an education on the history and background of Zone 7,” Solitei said. “(The meeting) was a request from the city of Pleasanton because they got a lot of questions from their residents, so we jointly said, ‘Let’s hold a workshop.'”
Pleasanton residents have been increasingly complaining to city and Zone 7 officials about their water bills over the last few months. Several speakers at City Council and Zone 7 board meetings in December said their bills had increased by 30% or more despite cutting water usage by at least that much since the drought began.
In response, the city of Pleasanton suspended its portion of the automatic consumer price index (CPI) increase on water and sewer rates for 2017.
But Zone 7 customers’ water bills have been on the rise since 2016 after the board approved increased wholesale water rates for its retailers for a three-year period in October 2015. The board also approved a temporary drought surcharge in an effort to recoup revenue lost due to water conservation.
Some residents voiced concerns about the rate increase at that time, but the response then was “not like the way it is now,” Solitei said.
“No idea,” he added, when asked why he thought concern has grown. “That’s what we’re going to find out Monday.”
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If you are the least bit concerned with the hike in your water bill, I urge you to attend this meeting! Board salaries have gone up, our biil have gone up, and we have collectivly lowered our water consumption.
California has not built a new reservoir since 1979. Since then, population has grown by 35%.
When will these water agencies build more reservoirs?
I can’t make the workshop since I need to work so I can pay the water bill, but I hope someone can ask if any of this money is being applied to new capacity.
“No idea”? You might start with the board voting themselves fat salary/benefit increases while all of us were expected to conserve and do without. You might start with that!
Why are they doing a workshop to explain why our rates have gone up? Are they going to do any cost reduction or layoffs to offset their salary increases? Waste of time.
Hey Pete
If we all do nothing, they will continue to raise our rates and their salaries. If more people show up, maybe be can change the way they do business.
Thanks for making this a 5pm start so people who work and commute cannot attend. How about a 7pm start time next time please?
See the “Citizens for sensible water rates” website here and read the *MORE things to know about Zone 7* pdf uploaded there.
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http://sensibleh2o.weebly.com/blog
http://sensibleh2o.weebly.com/blog
Link to the website referred to above.
5:00 start time? Have these board members not ever had to deal with Bay Area commutes? Way to work with the community who supports your fat salaries.
I went to the meeting last night and found it very informative. I had to leave early so hoping someone can give me an update on how it ended. First of all, I was pretty disappointed that only 1 person on the water board was there, you would think that since you are an elected official you would be there; 2nd I was disappointed that only one person admitted being there from the City of Pleasanton. I didn’t really understand how the whole water trail worked. And I think I pieced it together. It would have been very helpful if the City of Pleasanton had given a presentation on how they work with the Water District too. But what I gathered was that Zone 7 gives water to the neighboring cities and the cities are the ones who charge their residents. I didn’t realize that basically the water company sets a price for it’s water and then individual cities charge what they want. I agree that the water district has rewarded themselves with large raises throughout the last 3-4 years and if you go to their website they basically get raises every year. So I am curious who is in charge of keeping operation costs at a reasonable level. I also think that they have not planned very well for expenses for an aging system. It would seem to me your one job is to account for these in advance otherwise what are you getting the big bucks for. However, I didn’t realize that the city is the one who produces the tier rating system and penalty fees. The water company doesn’t see any of that. Maybe I missed this at a City Council meeting but maybe it would be a good idea for the City of Pleasanton to go over their income from water and how they arrive at their administrative costs. It’s like a jigsaw puzzle figuring out your water bill! I’m also curious how my Pleasanton fixed sewer cost was $4.12 in 2013, $12.60 for 6/2016 and $25.19 for 12/2016. Something seems amiss there. I am glad I went to the meeting and would love others feedback.
Last night was a game of Zone 7 Water Rate Jeopardy. I’ll take “Hide the Pea” for 600.
Rather than a willingness to listen to ratepayer’s concerns and participate in a workshop of exchange of ideas and information, Zone 7 Directors spoon fed us what they wanted us to accept. They demanded that all comments and concerns be in the form of questions to prevent sharing unwelcome information. Multiple requests to allow a presentation, based on their own reports and information, from the citizen’s group that requested the workshop were denied.
A representative of DSRSD, Carol Atwood, boasted that we slept through their recent rate hike, we should correct that lack of oversight. It is difficult to follow the bouncing balls, with four water agencies all hitting us with increases. We need to know why we need so many agencies, how to connect the dots it is a lot of overhead and employee cost. Are there redundancies and inefficiencies, can agencies be streamlined?
Was anyone else struck by the discussion of promoting higher water use to bring down rates? Director Jill Duerig seemed to resent the pressure put on Zone 7 to promote conservation. Do you feel like a puppet on a string when you realize each municipality has their own agenda?