In 2007, Las Virgenes Municipal Water District (District) of Calabasas, California, successfully
enacted major revenue increases that were phased-in over five years. Required to
maintain financial solvency during multiple capital programs, and to enhance customer
equity, the District did not receive a single protest from its 21,000 water and sewer customers.
Openness and transparency in the planning and review process, and public
outreach and attentiveness to customer concerns generated understanding, appreciation
and goodwill that translated into acceptance of the increases. With the last major rate
update in 1996, the consultant-supported rate study team implemented technical rate-making
methods proscribed in the AWWA M-1 Manual titled "Principles of Water Rates,
Fees, and Charges," as well as the AWWA 2004 study titled "Avoiding Rate Shock: Making
the Case for Water Rates."
The District responded to the concerns of customers and board members alike, and
demonstrated that the right way to seek funding augmentation is to reach out to an
informed community. That successful multi-step outreach process is described in this paper. Includes figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 850 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 6 |
| Published : | 11/01/2009 |
