OPINION: RMWD’s Proposed Rate Increases

Dave Patterson’s letter to the editor in the June 6, 2019, issue of the Ramona Sentinelopens with the claim that “there is something in the water at the (RMWD) ….” Two articles written by Julie Gallant in the same issue provide evidence that “something” is a lack of candor. At the RMWD board meeting on May 14, 2019, Director Tom Ace asked if the $240,000 annual increase in San Vicente Sewer Service Area recycled water revenue was taken into account since the Bartle Wells Associates study originally recommended a 3 percent annual increase in the San Vicente sewer rate. The response was that the annual rate increase had been reduced to 1.5 percent (about $50,000).