Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Council to consider water rate hike plans

The North Las Vegas City Council next month will consider two competing plans to raise water charges, after a citizens advisory board decided Thursday to recommend increases lower than what city staff will propose.

The city Utility Advisory Board on Thursday recommended the City Council reject proposed water rate hikes for the next three years that would raise the average customer's monthly water bill by about $14 by September 2005.

Instead, the advisory board says the council should adopt only the adjustments to the water-rate tiers that were also part of the staff recommendations. This change, if adopted, would result in higher bills because lower water use thresholds would trigger higher per-gallon rates.

Exactly how much higher was not known Thursday night, but Leslie Long, environmental services manager for the city Public Works Department, said the impact to the average customer would "probably be minimal."

The council is scheduled to hold public hearings and possibly vote on the proposed water and sewer rate hikes on June 18.

North Las Vegas is not alone in considering utility rate increases now.

The Clark County commissioners, who act as the directors of the Las Vegas Valley Water District, are scheduled to hear and possibly vote on proposed water rate increases on July 15.

Henderson officials are also reviewing possible utility rate hikes.

In addition to any additional revenue they raise, the increases are seen as a way to encourage water conservation during the area's worst drought.

Under the advisory board's recommended changes, the first tier of usage, which charges of $1.10 per 1,000 gallons for the first 10,000 gallons of water used monthly, would be changed so the $1.10 rate would apply only to the first 6,000 gallons of water used a month.

The top tier for residential customers, which is $2.20 per 1,000 gallons, would kick in at any use over 24,000 gallons in a month. Now, the top tier starts at water use above 55,000 gallons a month.

The advisory board did not weigh in Thursday on sewer rate increases city staff members have proposed.

Long said the group ran out of time and will probably discuss the proposed changes June 26, week after the council considers the staff proposal to raise water and sewer rates. The council can go ahead with the public hearings and votes even though the advisory board has not made a recommendation on the sewer rates, Long said.

The advisory board recommended against staff-proposed water rate increases because members said they wanted to give residents time to adjust their water use to conserve more and to give the city more time to inform the public about possible rate increases, Long said.

"They wanted to emphasize communication -- and give the city ample opportunity to educate the residents," Long said.

Adjusting the tier structure without raising the base rates was seen as a way to provide some financial incentive to conserve water without greatly increasing the financial burden on customers, she said.

City staff are recommending the council increase water and sewer rates in each of the next three Septembers at a pace that would almost double an average customer's bill by September 2005.

During a previous advisory board meeting, city officials said the rate increases are needed to turn around operating shortfalls that are draining the reserve accounts in the water and sewer funds.

The financial impact of adopting the advisory board's recommendations has not been yet, Long said.

Under the staff proposed rate increases, the average water and sewer customer's monthly bill, which is now $37.32, would go to $49.99 as of Sept. 1; $60.69 a year later; and $71.80 in September 2005.

North Las Vegas has about 52,000 water customers -- roughly 47,000 of which are residential accounts -- in the city and in Sunrise manor, a residential development east of the city line.

The city sewer system has about 36,000 customers, including about 34,700 households. All city sewer customers are within the city limits.

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