Ramona Municipal Water District directors will review the 2021-22 budget over the next month to decide, among other things, if the district should hire more staff and follow through on sewer rate increases.

Although the water district directors approved the budget in June 2020 as part of a two-year budget package, they will consider making updates based on staffing impacts from General Manager David Barnum’s retirement earlier this year and the decision to phase out the untreated water system to save the district $42 million in deferred maintenance costs and $1.2 million in annual maintenance costs.