City Finance Director? Jennifer Hennessy, in her Preview of the FY2012-13 Preliminary Budget, reports that utility rates are about to go up.
It’s your fault, Stupid – you’ve been altogether too good at cutting down on your energy and water usage, Doh! So PG&E and Cal Water will just have to raise your rates!
I found it in next week’s city council agenda, available here – get out your waders, Folks, it’s thick and deep. And it stinks:
http://www.ci.chico.ca.us/government/minutes_agendas/documents/3-20-12CityCouncilAgendaPacket.pdf
On page 4 of the Preliminary Budget Preview, Hennessy reports,
“Utility User’s Tax – growth rate of +1%
Currently the city is experiencing growth in Gas and Water services, but declines in electric and Telecom are offsetting this growth. PG&E is projecting up to 1% increase in electric rates, and between 1-5% increase in gas rates. However, they are projecting gas usage to decline. Cal Water is projecting a rate increase but is unable to provide the amount at this time. Telecommunications are also difficult to project because of the many changes in this industry. The city has seen a decline in cell phone companies’ remittances due to interpretations of our ordinance, as well as the exclusion of telecom companies taxing data plans.”
Points of interest:
1) your electricity is about to go up 1 percent and your gas 1 to 5 percent (but you won’t notice the gas increase til about next November)
2) your water rates are going up
3) the city, while they’re not mentioning it here, will have to get us to vote by 2/3’s majority to tax our own cell phones or they are going to lose that revenue altogether
4) despite the projected decrease in gas usage and the decline in cell phone tax revenues, Hennessy predicts a 1 percent increase in the UT based on the 1 percent increase in electric rates. Your pain is the city’s gain!
This is why, try as you might to be a good steward and cut down on energy usage, your bills continue to go up. I always keep mine, so I know.
My family has moved from a big house into a tiny apartment. We’ve decreased our living space by roughly 38 percent, but our PG&E bill has gone down less than 20 percent. That’s because, over the last two years since my family made this sacrifice, PG&E has lowered the gas “baseline” by almost 14 “therms,” while raising the baseline price per therm from 94 cents to $1 per therm. So, you get less at the cheap price, and the cheap price ain’t so cheap no more!
Your water rate just went up too – in fact, Cal Water has instituted strange new “tiers” – two “Tier 1” and two “Tier 2”? Look at your bill – your baseline for water just went from 10 ccf at 83 cents/ccf, to 9.31 ccf at 87 cents/ccf! And after that first 9.31 ccf, the price goes up to the second “Tier 1” – .69 ccf at 88 cents/ccf. That’s less than one ccf for more than you paid for a whole ccf yesterday. And then there are two “Tier 2” prices – 1.86 ccf at 93 cents/ccf, and then .14 ccf at 94 cents/ccf.
No, I’m not going to tell you what a ‘ccf’ is, I’m trying to get you to look at your bill, dammit!
I’d also like to point out, that while the city is supposed to work for the citizens, to protect us against this kind of wanton price gouging from “public” utility companies, they are instead helping Cal Water and PG&E to screw us blind.
Don’t forget to save your PG&E and water bills and apply for your Utility Tax Rebate – available in May. I’ll let you know as soon as I nag the Finance Dept into putting the form on the website.
Chico Taxpayers Association 