2023 Rate Study - Proposed Rate Increase for February 2024
11/28/2023: The following Notice was mailed out to all customers to the billing addresses on file on November 29th, 2023.
High Valleys Water District Notice of Public Hearing Regarding Proposed Water Rate Adjustments
NOTICE IS HEARBY GIVEN that the High Valleys Water District (District) Board of Directors (Board) has called a public hearing for January 17th, 2024, at 6:00 pm at the Rancho Encino Mountain Clubhouse in Poppet Flats, located at 45915 Orchard Road, Banning, California, 92220 to consider adjustments to the water rates. The new rates, if adopted, will go into effect on January 18th, 2024 (which will be reflected on the February 2024 invoice with a March 2024 due date). In compliance with Proposition 218, affected property owners and tenants directly responsible for the payment of water service fees within the District’s service area are hereby informed of the proposed adjustment in water rates.
Background: The District provides residents and customers with safe, high-quality water meeting all federal and state requirements at fair and affordable rates. Water services charges are paid directly by property owners and/or tenants through bills rendered monthly.
Why is the Rate Adjustment Needed? The proposed adjustments will help the District meet the increasing costs of operations and maintenance caused by inflation, increased regulatory requirements, needed capital improvements, as well as contributing to reserves.
Questions And Public Comment: If you have any questions regarding this notice or how it may affect your property, call (951) 849-2612 during operating hours which are Monday thru Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You may also contact the General Manager, Curtis “Stan” Houghton, at (951) 675-8200. Supporting documentation is available for review at the High Valleys Water District’s Office (hours vary due to staff availability; please call to make an appointment to ensure the office is open), located at 47781 Twin Pines Road, Banning, California, 92220. Documentation may also be viewed online on the District’s website by visiting the following URL: https://www.highvalleyswater.com/rate-study-proposed-rate-increase.html
To Protest this Adjustment: Any record owner of a parcel upon which the proposed water service charges are to be imposed or any tenant directly responsible for the payment of water service fees (collectively, a “Customer of Record”) may submit a written protest to the proposed adjustments to the rates for the District’s Water Rates; provided, however, only one protest will be counted per identified parcel. Each protest must: (1) be in writing; (2) state whether the protest is submitted in opposition to the rate adjustments to the proposed water rates; (3) provide the location of the identified parcel (by service address or assessor’s parcel number); and (4) include the name and signature of the person submitting the written protest. Written protests may be submitted by mail to the District mailing address, 47781 Twin Pines Road, Banning, CA 92220 Written protests may also be submitted in person at the District Office, 47781 Twin Pines Road, Banning, CA 92220 or at the public hearing (see date, time, and location above). All written protests must be received prior to the conclusion of the public input portion of the Public Hearing. Any protest submitted via e-mail or other electronic means will not be accepted as a formal written protest. Please identify on the front of the envelope for any protest, whether mailed or submitted in person, Attn: Public Hearing on the Proposed Adjustment to Water Rates.
The District’s Board of Directors will consider all written protests submitted and hear and consider all public comments made at the public hearing. Oral comments at the public hearing will not qualify as formal protests unless accompanied by a written protest. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the District’s Board of Directors will determine whether to adopt the proposed rate adjustments to the water rates. If, after the close of the public hearing, written protests against the proposed rate adjustments as outlined above are not presented by a majority of the Customers of Record of the identified parcels upon which they are proposed to be imposed, the District’s Board of Directors will be authorized to impose the rate adjustments. Pursuant to Government Code Section 53759, a judicial action to challenge any new, increased, or extended fee or charge must be brought within 120 days of the final approval of the fee or charge.
How Are Your Water Service Charges Calculated? Your water service bill consists of a monthly fixed charge and a variable charge for each cubic foot of water usage. Fixed rates were determined by summing the total fixed costs allocated to each customer class. Next, total fixed costs are divided by the number of customers in each customer class. Customer service costs were divided evenly between each billed customer. Volumetric rates were established based on summing the remaining costs and dividing by the forecasted usage for each customer class. The result of this calculation is the cubic foot rate applied to all usage. The fixed rate was then adjusted to include 1,000 cubic feet of water use for all customers. For example, under the proposed rates for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 the water service charges for Residential service with monthly water usage of 1,200 cubic feet would be as follows: Fixed Charge ($82.74) plus Water Quantity Charge (1,000 x $0.00+200 x $0.1124) = $105.22.
Current Rates and Proposed Rates
High Valleys Water District Notice of Public Hearing Regarding Proposed Water Rate Adjustments
NOTICE IS HEARBY GIVEN that the High Valleys Water District (District) Board of Directors (Board) has called a public hearing for January 17th, 2024, at 6:00 pm at the Rancho Encino Mountain Clubhouse in Poppet Flats, located at 45915 Orchard Road, Banning, California, 92220 to consider adjustments to the water rates. The new rates, if adopted, will go into effect on January 18th, 2024 (which will be reflected on the February 2024 invoice with a March 2024 due date). In compliance with Proposition 218, affected property owners and tenants directly responsible for the payment of water service fees within the District’s service area are hereby informed of the proposed adjustment in water rates.
Background: The District provides residents and customers with safe, high-quality water meeting all federal and state requirements at fair and affordable rates. Water services charges are paid directly by property owners and/or tenants through bills rendered monthly.
Why is the Rate Adjustment Needed? The proposed adjustments will help the District meet the increasing costs of operations and maintenance caused by inflation, increased regulatory requirements, needed capital improvements, as well as contributing to reserves.
Questions And Public Comment: If you have any questions regarding this notice or how it may affect your property, call (951) 849-2612 during operating hours which are Monday thru Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You may also contact the General Manager, Curtis “Stan” Houghton, at (951) 675-8200. Supporting documentation is available for review at the High Valleys Water District’s Office (hours vary due to staff availability; please call to make an appointment to ensure the office is open), located at 47781 Twin Pines Road, Banning, California, 92220. Documentation may also be viewed online on the District’s website by visiting the following URL: https://www.highvalleyswater.com/rate-study-proposed-rate-increase.html
To Protest this Adjustment: Any record owner of a parcel upon which the proposed water service charges are to be imposed or any tenant directly responsible for the payment of water service fees (collectively, a “Customer of Record”) may submit a written protest to the proposed adjustments to the rates for the District’s Water Rates; provided, however, only one protest will be counted per identified parcel. Each protest must: (1) be in writing; (2) state whether the protest is submitted in opposition to the rate adjustments to the proposed water rates; (3) provide the location of the identified parcel (by service address or assessor’s parcel number); and (4) include the name and signature of the person submitting the written protest. Written protests may be submitted by mail to the District mailing address, 47781 Twin Pines Road, Banning, CA 92220 Written protests may also be submitted in person at the District Office, 47781 Twin Pines Road, Banning, CA 92220 or at the public hearing (see date, time, and location above). All written protests must be received prior to the conclusion of the public input portion of the Public Hearing. Any protest submitted via e-mail or other electronic means will not be accepted as a formal written protest. Please identify on the front of the envelope for any protest, whether mailed or submitted in person, Attn: Public Hearing on the Proposed Adjustment to Water Rates.
The District’s Board of Directors will consider all written protests submitted and hear and consider all public comments made at the public hearing. Oral comments at the public hearing will not qualify as formal protests unless accompanied by a written protest. At the conclusion of the public hearing, the District’s Board of Directors will determine whether to adopt the proposed rate adjustments to the water rates. If, after the close of the public hearing, written protests against the proposed rate adjustments as outlined above are not presented by a majority of the Customers of Record of the identified parcels upon which they are proposed to be imposed, the District’s Board of Directors will be authorized to impose the rate adjustments. Pursuant to Government Code Section 53759, a judicial action to challenge any new, increased, or extended fee or charge must be brought within 120 days of the final approval of the fee or charge.
How Are Your Water Service Charges Calculated? Your water service bill consists of a monthly fixed charge and a variable charge for each cubic foot of water usage. Fixed rates were determined by summing the total fixed costs allocated to each customer class. Next, total fixed costs are divided by the number of customers in each customer class. Customer service costs were divided evenly between each billed customer. Volumetric rates were established based on summing the remaining costs and dividing by the forecasted usage for each customer class. The result of this calculation is the cubic foot rate applied to all usage. The fixed rate was then adjusted to include 1,000 cubic feet of water use for all customers. For example, under the proposed rates for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 the water service charges for Residential service with monthly water usage of 1,200 cubic feet would be as follows: Fixed Charge ($82.74) plus Water Quantity Charge (1,000 x $0.00+200 x $0.1124) = $105.22.
Current Rates and Proposed Rates
Below are the documents used to help determine the proposed new rate increase for both residential and commercial customers. A presentation of the rate study findings was presented to the Board at the regularly scheduled Board Meetings held on September 20th, 2023, with a follow-up presentation on October 18th, 2023. Minutes for both of these meetings can be found on the District website by visiting the following URL: https://www.highvalleyswater.com/board-meeting-agendaminutes.html
Below is the power point presentation of the rate study findings presented to the General Manager and Office Administrator on August 18th, 2023. This presentation did not incorporate the need for a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for current and future infrastructure improvements and were solely calculated based on operations itself. Because this presentation was given after the regularly scheduled Board Meeting held on August 16th, 2023, these findings were presented to the Board for discussion (under Old and New Business) at the regularly scheduled Board Meeting held on September 20th, 2023.
Below is the power point presentation of the rate study findings presented to the General Manager and Office Administrator on September 7th, 2023. This presentation incorporated the need for a Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for current and future infrastructure improvements. These findings were presented to the Board for discussion (and possible vote) at the regularly scheduled Board Meeting held on September 20th, 2023. Also presented to the Board was the Rate Study Report Draft
At the regularly scheduled Board Meeting held onNovember 15th, 2023, the Board had a final discussion and voted on the rate study findings and determined that a fixed rate for the next five years would be better recieved than a gradual, small increase rate over the next five years. They also decided to keep the monthly allotment at 1,000 cubic feet of usage for customers, as opposed to an allotted 700 cubic feet of usage, both with an additional charge per cubic foot of usage. Below is the final Rate Study Report.