After hearing comments from residents at a public hearing on Wednesday, May 18, the Sanitary District Board of Directors voted to reduce their proposed residential rate increase by one half.

The initial proposed increase had been $2 per month from $29 to $31, or $87 to $93 on the quarterly billing.

Sanitary Board Chairman Bob Thomson told The Times the board reconsidered after hearing from the public. There were just three speakers at the public hearing, and one of those was a commercial interest.

John Winter said he was concerned to see the amount of the increase publicized earlier this month.

“You just had an increase in January 2021,” Winter said. “Plus, we are assessed by Maricopa County and those valuations continue to go up. Even with the rate the same the taxes go up.

“Residents can help figure out how to cut. There are a lot of people on fixed income, how are they going to afford this?”

Robert Schuessler said he had worked in finance and is now on a fixed income. He noted the proposed budget increase is 5.1% while the rate increase is 6.9%.

“It looks like the fees are increasing more than the budget,” Schuessler said. “Is this just an increase without thinking about how to conserve?

“Do everything like it is your own money, these are your neighbors.”

Don Misheff, owner of SunRidge Canyon Golf Club, said he is concerned that the fee structure being proposed is not consistent with the agreement with the district for water.

“I hope we can find some common ground,” Misheff said. “This is millions of dollars.

“We are doing all we can to conserve water. We have upgraded our irrigation infrastructure, reducing overseed, we will listen to anything you might suggest.”

Thomson said the board did not address the commercial rates in its discussion to reduce the residential rates. He added that he had spoken with Misheff about concerns he raised.

In its statement earlier regarding the proposed rate increase, the district said the Sanitary District is experiencing significant inflation in the cost of necessary supplies to safely collect and treat wastewater. Needed chemicals have increased 42% to 157%. Fuel costs are significantly higher. The costs of equipment such as pumps, safety and testing supplies, piping and the repair or replacement of fleet vehicles have all seen large increases.

The board received no public comment at the hearing on its budget proposal for the coming year. The tentative budget for the 2022/2023 Fiscal Year of $15,596,600. This is an increase from $14,840,260 for the current fiscal year.

The Sanitary District will hold another public hearing regarding the proposed changes to the rates on Wednesday, June 15.

The Sanitary District has offered a Low-Income Assistance Program (LIAP) since January 2019 for those with a low income. The details of the program are available on the District’s website, under the Sewer Fees section.

The program was initially set to provide a 20% discount to those that qualify. The Board has directed the discount to be raised to 25% with the upcoming proposed fee increase. To qualify for the LIAP discount, an applicant must be a full-time resident of Fountain Hills, the home must be the primary residence, and the household income cannot exceed 150% of the federal poverty level.

The District will honor any similar eligibilities with other utility providers, such as EPCOR and SRP. In addition, those on a fixed monthly income can request to pay their sewer bills monthly, rather than three-month combined bill once a quarter.