Santa Fe Water Division Director Gary Martinez went before the City Council Public Works Committee on Monday night to further explain the need for a nearly 7 percent water rate increase each year over the next seven years.
He was met with some suppor t and even more skepticism.
“I’ve been very critical of this,” Councilor Ronald Trujillo said. “It’s affecting the community. There are some people who are here on fixed incomes, and we’re seeing almost a 50 percent increase in just a matter of seven years.”
The money will mostly be used to help cover the cost of the planned Buckman Direct Diversion project, which allows Santa Fe to take about 3 billion gallons a year from the Rio Grande.
“I wish I wasn’t the person who had to come here and tell you we need a rate increase,” Martinez told the council. He said the city water division will see if it can tweak the proposed financial plan, but “we have done everything we’ve possibly been able to do. It seems it’s at the rate we need.”
Over the short term, the jump in water rates isn’t substantial, a fact noted by Councilor Rosemary Romero.
“To me we are looking at the cost of doing business; it’s a reality,” Romero said. “The reality is it’s going to increase over the years. It’s the difference between $31 and $34 in one year. It’s three or four dollars.”
Under the proposed plan, the average monthly household water bill would rise from $31.50 to $33.71 next year. Over the long term, however, the increase is substantial. In 2015, the proposed final year of the increase, the rate would be about $50.55.
Councilor Patti Bushee described the fundraising for Santa Fe water as an “upward spiral.”
“I understand we need to complete the Buckman Direct diversion, but in relationship to what we actually get for new water it’s essentially a wash,” she said. “And it’s a pretty expensive wash. ... I get it, but that’s not saying any of us like it. I’m speaking for myself. It’s been tough.”
The subject will come up again at a finance committee meeting — a public hearing at City Hall — on Sept. 2. That will be the first of three scheduled public hearings on the topic.
“We’re going to tweak it throughout the process and hopefully the community turns out so we can hear from the people,” Trujillo said.
