It’s official. The Lompico Water District, which already has the highest water rates in the county, is about to see its rates rise again—about 25 percent, depending on the household’s usage. In order to stop the rate increase, more than half of Lompico’s 500-odd households would have had to write in or speak up at a hearing on the issue. Only about 30 did so at the hour-long meeting at the Zayante Firehouse on Sept. 29.
It’s official. The Lompico Water District, which already has the highest water rates in the county, is about to see its rates rise again—about 25 percent, depending on the household’s usage. In order to stop the rate increase, more than half of Lompico’s 500-odd households would have had to write in or speak up at a hearing on the issue. Only about 30 did so at the hour-long meeting at the Zayante Firehouse on Sept. 29.
“We’re a small minority,” says Lompico resident Debra Loewen, who opposed the hike and thinks it will put a strain on a lot of families. Loewen thinks the district needs to take a different path and focus on a much-discussed merger with the San Lorenzo Valley Water District, which would lower rates instead.
The added $80,000 in annual revenue from the increase will begin pay for a $60,000, 14-item grocery list of needed tank liners, piping and filters to a system that routinely breaks. It will begin to build up a financial reserve and pay off a $100,000 settlement to former manager Mike Eggleston over the next five years. In the next decade, the district will also need to replace two large storage tanks to the tune of at least $200,000. If the district is going to go through with merger with the San Lorenzo Valley, it will need to install new water meters. After that, the merger could save customers about 40 percent on their water rates.
Led by board member Sherwin Gott, a group of Lompico residents wants to look into other options besides joining forces with another district. “I just want to see what happens if we don’t merge,” skeptic John Cunliffe said last month. But Board President Rick Harrington says putting off the merger will only mean more hikes in the future. If the district maintains independence, it will have to hire a new manager—something it hasn’t done since firing Eggleston last year.
