Queen Creek's proposed water resource fee returns to the Town Council on Wednesday, Nov. 4, for one more look at the details still being worked out before members are scheduled to decide whether to create it.
The item is listed for discussion only, with no vote. A memo from Deputy Town Manager and Chief Financial Officer Scott McCarty says the council plans to hold a public hearing on Nov. 18, where it intends to make a final decision on the new fee.
Staff first proposed the monthly charge on Sept. 2 as part of a package of utility rates and fees. According to the memo, the charge would give the town a dedicated source of money to cover an aquifer replenishment program it is creating.
What is on the table
The memo lists five implementation issues for Wednesday:
- a monthly-fee credit for customers whose homes rely on septic tanks
- ending a separate $40 monthly wastewater charge that applies to about 60 accounts, which staff call a legacy issue
- how the town would handle reimbursements tied to the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District, because the town cannot pay those fees directly on customers' behalf
- a new HOA program for cases where the fee would push an existing homeowners association fee up by more than is allowed
- a recommended five-year schedule for phasing in the fee
The presentation itself was not attached to the posted packet; the memo says it will be distributed with an amended agenda.
What residents told the council
Septic customers spoke up when the fee came before the council on Oct. 21, according to draft minutes included in Wednesday's packet. One resident on a one-acre lot whose HOA requires grass or artificial turf on half the front yard said the fee would cost his household an extra $1,277 in its first year, and urged the town to push HOAs toward water-wise landscaping.
Others, including people on fixed incomes, said they had heard conflicting information and questioned why septic users would pay more than homes connected to sewer.
