{"id":50700,"date":"2020-10-29T15:39:11","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T21:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/errors-in-bayfield-water-study-could-lead-to-higher-utility-rates\/"},"modified":"2020-10-29T21:39:11","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T21:39:11","slug":"errors-in-bayfield-water-study-could-lead-to-higher-utility-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/errors-in-bayfield-water-study-could-lead-to-higher-utility-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"Errors in Bayfield water study could lead to higher utility rates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Bayfield
Bayfield is trying to fix errors in its water rate study, the basis of household utility rates. The end result might mean higher rates for community members.<\/span>Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Bayfield is trying to fix errors in its water rate study, the basis of household utility rates, and the end result might mean higher rates for community members.<\/p>\n

Water rates pay for every aspect of the town\u2019s water system, including repairs, staffing and upgrades. The current rate structure is based on a 2018 study, which was meant to inform water rates for several years. But some financial figures were double-counted, underestimated or just don\u2019t add up, said Katie Sickles, town manager.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the engineer\u2019s input, we\u2019ll go back to the information provided for the study and analyze the appropriate rate,\u201d Sickles said.<\/p>\n

The town\u2019s actual water sales kept coming in lower than projected sales. That\u2019s likely because revenue sources were double-counted, pushing projections higher than necessary, she said.<\/p>\n

The study projected that some legal and engineering fees, like those tied to the town\u2019s conversion of irrigation water to municipal water, would wrap up by 2020. Those fees are ongoing, she said.<\/p>\n

The insurance bill on the town\u2019s water assets seemed to be unduly low in 2016, Sickles said. The study indicated a payment of $5,094 in 2016, compared with the real insurance cost of $27,325 in 2020 \u2013 a 536% increase in four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why it was so underevaluated,\u201d Sickles said.<\/p>\n

As soon as Bayfield has a modified rate study based on correct numbers, the Bayfield Board of Trustees will be advised again. With the board\u2019s guidance, the town will take another look at its charges for customers.<\/p>\n

The final rates can\u2019t be determined until the re-evaluation is finished, but in one scenario, the water rates could increase from $28.88 to $40, a difference of $11.12, Sickles said.<\/p>\n

The monthly sewer tap fee could increase from $54.20 to $59. The increase would help pay to improve flow through water lines, address capacity issues and delay expensive sewer facility expansion in the future. Garbage rates could rise from $12.64 to $13.90 to pay for administrative expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are just hypothetical until we finish the review,\u201d Sickles said.<\/p>\n

The board aims to reconsider the rates before the end of 2020; however, no rates would change until March 2021, she said.<\/p>\n

Bayfield also plans to create a utility-relief program for anyone struggling to pay their utility bills, particularly because of the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe town and the board understand this is a difficult conversation with utility customers,\u201d Sickles said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to do the best we can to look out for the future, the water needs of the town and promoting growth. But we also need to look at the cost to our utility users.\u201d<\/p>\n

smullane@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

bill relief program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[731,295,294],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-50700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bayfield","tag-water","tag-water-supply"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50700"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=50700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}