Cave Creek approves 6% rate increase for water customers

By Jeff Wendt
Mail

The Cave Creek Town Council approved a 6% rate increase for the next three years to Cave Creek, Desert Hills and Cave Creek Wastewater water customers during a Jan. 6 meeting to little fanfare.

Town Finance Director Cherie White outlined in the presentation that the rate hike’s goal is to minimize and eliminate general fund subsidies and cash loans to the utility funds, as well as maintain debt service coverage ratios to obtain debt financing for future capital improvement projects.

Two big changes to the rates were adding a new tier of 0 to 4,000 gallons used per month, and lowering the top tier from 50,000 gallons a month down to 40,000.

Cave Creek Water customers on the low-use end would see rates increase between $4 and $7 per month, while the very high-use customers would see an approximate increase between $120 to upwards of $600 per month. About 1,250 customers fall into the first two tiers of Cave Creek’s = system, while about 120 customers fall in the top two tiers of 30,000 gallons or more used per month.

“We have customers that actually are using 4 acre-feet of water a year?” councilmember Dusty Rhoades asked White.

“That’s not even the highest,” White replied.

“That’s insane,” Rhoades replied. “You know, maybe a disincentive is next time around we take a look at really charging them through the nose, like $50,000 a month or so if they’re going to use that much.

“That will definitely get them to cut the rate of usage,” Rhoades added. “But that is an insane amount.”

Those on the Desert Hills water system will see a smaller difference, and some Desert Hills customers could see a decrease in rates.

Customers in the lower tiers in Desert Hills would either see rates stay flat or could see their bill decrease by about $7. Those on the highest tiers in Desert Hills would see their rates increase by about $80 per month.
Approximately 1,150 customers fall in the lower two tiers in Desert Hills, while 92 customers reside in the top two tiers.

For Cave Creek Wastewater, customers pay flat fees that will increase approximately $6 per month, and the meter size rates increase between $3 and $11 depending on the size of the meter. Wastewater customers also pay volume rates depending on the type of business, and those rates went up between 3 cents and 54 cents per 10,000 gallons, depending on the type of business.

“I don’t see any way around this,” Vice Mayor Kathryn Royer said in making the motion to approve the increases. “I think that we had to reduce what we initially had proposed to ensure that our residents aren’t completely overcharged for their water.

“It’s a finite resource that costs a lot of money just to get here,” Royer added. “So, we’re paying for all of the infrastructure that’s required to provide reliable service, and we’re doing the best we can to monitor the costs and ensure that we still have water in the future.”

“I am a water customer, so I am not putting anything on anybody else that I wouldn’t do myself,” Mayor Robert Morris said. “I especially want to note that the commercial water we pay runs the town, because the sales taxes are all we have for fire departments, roads and everything else.”

“So there is a part of this that is really the driver towards the town being in even in existence,” Morris added.

Councilmember Cynthia Driskell piggybacked off Rhoades’ earlier comment about the top water users in her comments to approve the increase.,

“I think there’s room when we look at a future rate study to maybe do a deeper dive into some of the uses, and that’s look at not just who’s using the highest water, but what kind of parcels are they?” Driskell said.

“What are the uses, and that can help guide some decisions about whether there’s a need for hard cap limits on water distribution for customers or if rate increases is the correct way to control that.”

Jeff Wendt
Reporter | Phoenix/Cave Creek

jwendt@iniusa.org

Meet Jeff
Jeff Wendt started at Independent Newsmedia in January 2023, after 25 years working for Gannett and The Arizona Republic. Started as a high school sports scoretaker, worked up to reporting high school sports and then became an associate high school sports editor in 2002. Also worked in the Design Studio as a copy editor.

Community: Jeff serves on the Board of Elders at his local church.

Education: Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication

Random fact: Attended Game 2 of the 2001 World Series.

Hobbies: Playing video games (yes still the kid in me), watching reality TV, playing poker.