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Letter to the Editor: Postpone the PUD rate increase

Carl J. Pendleton
Tahoe City

I have read the rationale for the proposed Tahoe City PUD rate increases for water and sewer but cannot understand why it is being proposed at a time when the entire country is in such financial turmoil.

States, cities, counties and businesses all over the nation are drastically cutting their budgets because of this economic recession. It is inconceivable that the Tahoe City PUD would increase water and sewer rates 171 percent over the next five years!



The 2008 water and sewer bill for our hotel was about $13,000, not including TTSA.

By applying the proposed 20-30 percent annual increases each year, our $13,000 annual cost would rise to $35,297 by the year 2013!



Furthermore, a residential unit that would only have an annual cost of $900 in the year 2008 would increase to $2,444 in the next five years.

And, keep in mind that these costs do not include the costs from the Tahoe Truckee Sanitation Agency. Increases of this size would be devastating to the businesses that are already suffering from the economic downturn.

The President’s Stimulus Bill has now passed and if we can believe the news over the past two weeks, California can expect over $50billion allotted for infrastructure improvements.

I remember the success of Cindy Gustafson over the years in seeking out federal funds for projects. For the benefit of our Tahoe economy, we encourage the Tahoe City PUD Board to postpone this rate increase and give Cindy a chance to get a share of the stimulus funds for the most urgent water infrastructure improvements.


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