PLATFORM : Fair Water Rates

It’s absolutely crucial that those people who cannot afford a water-rate increase be subsidized.

Some rates are going to be based on penalizing people. You cut everybody’s rate by the same percentage, and if they use more than that, they’re penalized and their rates go up.

Well, those people who have already been conserving have lower water usage, and yet theirs are cut by 30% the same way that the neighbor who has not been conserving has been cut. That’s not fair. There needs to be a per-person and household allocation that’s fair across the board, and then rates should be based on that. Also, rates need to be based on the actual cost of supplying the product to those who can afford to pay for it. We have to discourage excessive use of water so, the actual cost and value of the water needs to be passed on to the home user. In addition, those people who are wealthy should not be able to waste water. So there has to be some penalty, and it may be that it can’t be reflected in just the rates. That is, letting people who are more affluent waste water because they’re paying a water tax. We have to consider whether there are some outside maximums after which people’s water use is physically restricted. And this should be permanent. That’s what needs to be made clear. This is not a one-time measure. This has to be part of our consciousness.