The clock has started on a 60-day notice for a public hearing on increasing Queen Creek water customer rates by 15%.
At its Wednesday meeting, the Queen Creek Town Council approved May 7 as the day when the public can comment on the proposed increase. The vote was 6-0. Mayor Julia Wheatley was absent from the meeting.
The rate hike, first introduced to council during its Feb. 19 meeting, is meant to offset costs of providing water to the rapidly growing town. Queen Creek has not instituted a water rate hike since 2010.
During the past 10 years, the town’s water utility has grown to a service area of about 70 square miles — larger than the town’s boundary — and has 40,000 accounts.
In June 2023, the town’s water utility was operating at an $11.4 million deficit. The deficit grew to $16.7 million as of June 2024, according to staff documents.
Scott McCarty, the town’s deputy town manager and chief financial officer, reiterated reasons for the proposed hike during Wednesday’s meeting.
“The first is to stabilize the immediate financial condition of the (water) fund, the second is to assist in the upcoming restructuring of an $85 million loan that was initiated several years ago, mainly to buy water supply — the Harquahala (groundwater basin) purchase specifically — as well as some critical infrastructure that was needed,” McCarty said. “We want to make sure we cover our debt coverage.”
The rate hike also will allow the town to complete comprehensive water and wastewater rate and capacity fee studies and to formulate new water policies.
The rate hike is forecast to raise revenue by $4.3 million in the next fiscal year. The 40,000 residential accounts will account for 67%, or $3 million, of the increased revenue. More than half the residential accounts, 25,000, will see an increase of between $3 and $6 a month.
Even with the increase, most Queen Creek residential customers will be paying less than residents in neighboring cities.
For example, based on a staff report, an average monthly water bill for Queen Creek customers will rise from $34.26 to $39.40. That’s still lower than Tempe at $45.42, Gilbert at $52.78 and Mesa at $62.66.
Over the past year, Gilbert and Tempe have raised their customers’ water and wastewater rates.
“It’s safe to say that I think just about every major city in the metropolitan Phoenix area has or will be soon going through the same exercise on the monthly rates as well as the onetime fees that people pay as part of new construction,” McCarty said.
If approved, the new rates will be effective June 18 and will be reflected in residents’ water bills beginning with the July 29 billing cycle. Sewer rates would not be affected by the increase.
The town has set up an online calculator to help residents estimate their new water rates, at https://bit.ly/41qV25d.
Please send your comments about this article to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.
Janet Perez News Editor | Queen Creek &
San Tan Valley
Meet Janet Janet Perez joined Independent Newsmedia as editor of the Queen Creek Independent and Florence Independent in 2020. She started her career in 1989 with the Gannett-owned El Paso Times. In 1992, she moved to Tempe and has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio and television. She left Arizona for three years to work at New Mexico State University and Baylor University before returning to work at Arizona State University. Missing the business, she went back to journalism in 2017.
Community: A long-time pet owner, she supports animal welfare causes.
Education: University of Texas at El Paso with a BA in journalism and a minor in political science.
Random Fact: She had a head full of random facts.
Hobbies: Reading, watching documentaries, cooking and playing with her dogs.
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