Water rates raise ire

Just over two months since the Rawlins City Council passed a sweeping water rate increase, property owners from the Glenn Addition—home to the corrals and agricultural section of the city—expressed their frustration to the city council on December 6.

Those frustrations centered on two main points: what residents felt was a lack of communication from the City of Rawlins and inequitable billing in the Glenn Addition.

Spigot or Corral?

The flood of public comments began with resident Austin Thomas.

Thomas told the governing body when she signed up for water service in 2021, she was told charges in the Glenn Addition were per spigot. According to Thomas, prior to the water rate increase passed on September 20, billing at the corrals had been inconsistent with some users paying per spigot while others paid per corral.

Eventually, it was determined charges were per corral, even if the owner of multiple lots removed fences to make one corral.

“Why am I paying the same amount as someone who has six or eight spickets?” asked Thomas. “That’s not right.”

City Attorney Gwendolyn Wade told Thomas the issue had been addressed in the water rate study presented to the council and passed in September. Resolution No. 9-2022, which was passed and adopted on September 20, lists the Glenn Addition as having a fixed rate of $57. Since then, however, it seems the water rates have increased.

Master Meter

Prior to the meeting, a post made to the City of Rawlins Government Facebook page addressed the water rate increases.

“The Glenn Addition is unique within our community. It is a section of agricultural land owned by many different people. However, they are all served by one master meter,” read the post. “When the water rates were studied and ultimately increased, it was found that the Glenn Addition as a whole uses approximately 450,000 gallons per month, totaling $1,566 per month.”

The post continued by taking that approximately $1,500 per month and divided it by the 56 corral owners to come to a total of $28 per month. This, combined with the $29.48 base rate, $12 landfill maintenance fee and $6 recycling maintenance fee, totaled $75.48 per month. The City of Rawlins, per its Facebook post, set the monthly charge at $75.

It appeared, however, some people questioned the use of 450,000 gallons per month used by the Glenn Addition. Several residents asked how the master meter was read with one resident, Charles Bigelow, asking if the number of water breaks were included in the water study. The topic of water breaks was also raised by Austin.

“Repeatedly last summer, repeatedly last winter, even two weeks ago we had a giant water main break. For what reason? We’re without water, our animals are without water,” said Austin. “Nobody’s got any water and if it goes more than three days, you will bring us water, which is nice of you. We’re paying this increase yet nothing’s getting fixed.”

Mayor Terry Weickum explained to Thomas and the public the reason for the rate increases was to begin repairing the water infrastructure. The City of Rawlins had engaged with Carl Brown of GettingGreatRates.com and were told by Brown, as well as state agencies, the only chance to capture potential funding was by raising those rates.

Communication Concerns

Another concern expressed by Thomas and other residents was what they felt was a lack of communication on the part of the City of Rawlins. Several times, Thomas criticized the municipality for having two social media platforms—Facebook and YouTube—and failing to explain the rate increases.

Other residents asked why an explanation of the Glenn Addition rates had not been included with bills in either October or November. Mira Miller, City of Rawlins Communications Director, explained to the governing body a note had been included on water bills following the passage of Resolution No. 9-2022. Miller said due to the expansive nature of the rate change, the City of Rawlins couldn’t go into full detail about changes.

As members of the public expressed concern about a lack of transparency, Councilmember Chris Weisenberg reminded the audience the municipality was only required by statute to publish in newspapers. Indeed, under Wyoming State Statute, municipalities are required to publish the minutes of regular and special meetings, ordinances, salary information and bid notices in a newspaper.

Councilmember Linda Smith, meanwhile, encouraged residents to bring discrepancies to city staff.

“Whenever you adopt a blanket raise across the board for all properties … there is going to be large discrepancies between different types of properties,” said Smith. “What my recommendation would be to everyone, as we find these discrepancies, bring them into the City Manager’s office and let them know there’s some unusual situations going on in the Glenn Addition.”

The next meeting of the Rawlins City Council will be at 7:30 p.m. on December 20 at Rawlins City Hall (521 W Cedar Street).