This just shows how badly the city spends our tax money. Yesterday I recieved my bi-monthly water bill, the same bill that all 20,000 residences get. Today I received a second letter from the city crying about how we have to conserve water even though Lake Sonoma is full.
Excuse me but couldn't they have just stuck the second letter in the water bill and save the city $8,000 plus in mailing costs? Maybe we can lay off a few more employee's to pay for the next mailing.

quote:

Originally posted by MFC:
This just shows how badly the city spends our tax money. Yesterday I recieved my bi-monthly water bill, the same bill that all 20,000 residences get. Today I received a second letter from the city crying about how we have to conserve water even though Lake Sonoma is full.
Excuse me but couldn't they have just stuck the second letter in the water bill and save the city $8,000 plus in mailing costs? Maybe we can lay off a few more employee's to pay for the next mailing.

Got the same letter... still waiting on my bill. Just wait and see, rates go up again because people are conserving water. We're getting the shaft no matter what we do.

just curious.....how are we getting the shaft again? i'm genuinely asking....i'm not sure i understand how we are getting the shaft here.

thanks

You must not be a property owner. We have been paying special property taxes for over 20 years in order to build Lake Sonoma just so we would be safe during dry years. It's sort of like the Golden Gate bridge, they keep charging use more even though we already have paid for it. As far as water use, we save as much as we can but our bill is still huge every two months.

i am a local property owner, have owned property for 10 years now! i don't thing the comparison to the gg bridge is similar....maybe it is but....just because it is paid for doesn't mean no further money needs to be spent. there is perpetual maintenance, employees, etc. same goes for the lake. just one thought.

as for the water available....these restrictions of the amount of water allowed to be released is coming from state agencies.....not local agencies. the water agency is not happy with the restrictions, nor is the city of petaluma. it is coming from the state so to get angry at and take it out on the locals is unfair.

onto water use....this is where it gets tricky. the agency (water agency) sells the water to the city, they set the price, the city purchases it from the agency. so, if the price goes up, it is passed on to the consumers. i believe it is the water agency's cause for the pricing. and, they set the price because they have a budget that must be met to operate. they don't require less employees/overhead if less water is used so the prices per gallon go up.

so, it may seem as though the consumers are getting the 'shaft' but.....i think that is a misconception. believe me...i don't like it as much as the next person...but it is what it is. and, responding to a statement made, that being "we save as much as we can"......i think EVERYONE can always save more...much more. i would ask....how many gpm is your shower head? your sink faucets? your toilets? etc. i see water still running over sidewalks around town...the lady across the street from me was washing her car about 30 min ago running the water. i saw several kids over the weekend playing in the water in the front yard...simply letting the water run full and free from the hose. WE CAN ALL SAVE MORE THAN WE CURRENTLY ARE, NO DOUBT IN MY MIND.

quote:

Originally posted by ptlmafrnd:
just curious.....how are we getting the shaft again? i'm genuinely asking....i'm not sure i understand how we are getting the shaft here.

thanks

Less water used, less revenue. Once the money in slows, they've got to make up the difference somehow.

I've always tried to keep my water usage as low as possible and still end up with nearly $100 bills. I don't water my lawn in the summer and still get high bills.

And we get charged twice. We pay for it coming in, we pay for it going out.

quote:

Originally posted by MFC:
You must not be a property owner. We have been paying special property taxes for over 20 years in order to build Lake Sonoma just so we would be safe during dry years. It's sort of like the Golden Gate bridge, they keep charging use more even though we already have paid for it. As far as water use, we save as much as we can but our bill is still huge every two months.

I don't think the GG Bridge is a good comparison. The bridge requires more maintenance than Lake Sonoma. It constantly needs painting for one example. Though I do agree, tolls are way to high. That's another thing... once people start to carpool and take mass transit, revenues drop and tolls go up. Catch 22...

quote:

Originally posted by Patrick:

quote:

Originally posted by ptlmafrnd:
just curious.....how are we getting the shaft again? i'm genuinely asking....i'm not sure i understand how we are getting the shaft here.

thanks

Less water used, less revenue. Once the money in slows, they've got to make up the difference somehow.

I've always tried to keep my water usage as low as possible and still end up with nearly $100 bills. I don't water my lawn in the summer and still get high bills.

And we get charged twice. We pay for it coming in, we pay for it going out.

so....$100 bill translates to $50/month (as the bills are bi-monthly). that does not seem too bad to me......$50 for a month worth of water...seems pretty good. you get charged twice because you have to pay for the water to get to your home...then you have to pay for your sewage to be treated. two different functions...two different liabilities that must be paid off.

am i off base here?

Yes, what a waste of envelopes, paper and postage costs. They should have printed the notices on old city scratch paper (believe me, there is lots of it) and included them in the bill.

quote:

Originally posted by ptlmafrnd:

quote:

Originally posted by Patrick:

quote:

Originally posted by ptlmafrnd:
just curious.....how are we getting the shaft again? i'm genuinely asking....i'm not sure i understand how we are getting the shaft here.

thanks

Less water used, less revenue. Once the money in slows, they've got to make up the difference somehow.

I've always tried to keep my water usage as low as possible and still end up with nearly $100 bills. I don't water my lawn in the summer and still get high bills.

And we get charged twice. We pay for it coming in, we pay for it going out.

so....$100 bill translates to $50/month (as the bills are bi-monthly). that does not seem too bad to me......$50 for a month worth of water...seems pretty good. you get charged twice because you have to pay for the water to get to your home...then you have to pay for your sewage to be treated. two different functions...two different liabilities that must be paid off.

am i off base here?

Not all of it goes down the drain. If I fill a gallon jug of water or a dog bowl, I'm still being charged twice. What goes out is not metered.

quote:

Originally posted by JEH:
Yes, what a waste of envelopes, paper and postage costs. They should have printed the notices on old city scratch paper (believe me, there is lots of it) and included them in the bill.

How about those bills and notices that come with an extra sheet with the words "This Page Intentionally Left Blank"...

you are absolutely correct there. i don't know how else they could monitor that though, monitor the waste...unless they did require a ss meter and i don't think we want that. all in all it is a decent (not perfect) way to gauge the waste...that which does not go out (dog bowl, etc.) is minor in the overall amount.

i still don't believe folks are getting the 'shaft'.....it is what it is. if those don't like it....don't pay for it. it is a service provided by the city and it must be paid for!

quote:

Originally posted by Patrick:

quote:

Originally posted by ptlmafrnd:
just curious.....how are we getting the shaft again? i'm genuinely asking....i'm not sure i understand how we are getting the shaft here.

thanks

Less water used, less revenue. Once the money in slows, they've got to make up the difference somehow.

I've always tried to keep my water usage as low as possible and still end up with nearly $100 bills. I don't water my lawn in the summer and still get high bills.

And we get charged twice. We pay for it coming in, we pay for it going out.

Wow, I would be quite happy with a $100 water bill. Mine is more than double. We are a family of 5. We do not wash our cars and there are no kids running through sprinklers. We take showers, flush toilets, do laundry, do dishes, and I water my small front lawn. Not sure how to conserve here...

first place to look at conservation (easiest place) is the shower heads/faucets. there are great 1.5 gpm shower heads (even some that will shut off when the water gets hot saving that precious hot water). no shower should be longer than a few minutes...seriously. get a new toilet, city offers money back! maximize laundry loads and do laundry and dishwasher on economy cycles. call the city's water dept and get an audit....you'd be surprised at how much water you can save. there are many, MANY ways to conserve, just depends on how badly you want to do it....

quote:

Originally posted by ptlmafrnd:
you are absolutely correct there. i don't know how else they could monitor that though, monitor the waste...unless they did require a ss meter and i don't think we want that. all in all it is a decent (not perfect) way to gauge the waste...that which does not go out (dog bowl, etc.) is minor in the overall amount.


i still don't believe folks are getting the 'shaft'.....it is what it is. if those don't like it....don't pay for it. it is a service provided by the city and it must be paid for!

Don't pay for it? Yeah...rriiiight... HAHAHA!

really...

Not like we can dig wells and install septic tanks in our backyards as easy as we can install solar panels. We can get off the grid, but the city will never let you get off the pipe.