How do the residents of Kent like their new Utility Billing rates? We opened our current Utility Bill from the City of Kent, and our jaws dropped.
The feel-good pamphlet that accompanied the first billing of 2010 states that “The budget approved by the City Council included user fee increases for water, sewer and drainage.” If there is a council member who has the intestinal fortitude to explain the outrageous increases, we would appreciate a prompt response to be published in the Kent Reporter.
We compared our billing for the same period last year to our current billing. This showed that last year our household used 20 units of water for a charge of $31.86. This year we used 14 units of water and were charged $38.78. That is a 73 percent increase per unit of water. The fixed Access Fee went from $5.26 to $11.64. That is an increase of 121 percent for the Access Fee. The fixed Storm Drainage Fee went from $4.25 to $10.06. That is an increase of 136 percent for the fixed Storm Drainage Fee. The fixed Sewer-City Rate Fee went from $12.99 to $16.36. That is an increase of 26 percent for the fixed Sewer-City Rate Fee. We are paying much more for less product (water) delivered and used.
Our total fixed fees levied by the City of Kent on our Utility Bill went from $22.50 to $38.06 in one year, a total increase of 69 percent. On top of that we are paying 73 percent more for the water we actually use. There is no one in Kent who has seen their wages go up the last year by 70 percent, with the possible exception of an elected politician or public sector official. It appears that this unprecedented increase in rates was foisted on the citizens of Kent by a City Council that determined that they needed more money, had the power to extract it from the public, and did so with no consideration of how it would affect the people of the City that they are supposed to represent.
It is worth noting that the fixed Sewer-Metro Rate on the Utility Billing is unchanged from a year ago. At a time when King County is in the midst of budget crises, King County Metro has not raised their rates. Is there a member of the Kent City Council that is willing (or able) to explain why the City of Kent has arrogantly decided that the needs of the City coffers are more important than the needs of the citizens?
Cheryl and Bruce Rooks
Kent
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