Directors at the Joshua Basin Water District will gather for a special rate study workshop with the Citizen’s Advisory Council and members of the public at 5 p.m. tomorrow (Jan. 10, 2023) at a special location to talk about rate hikes planned for the next five years.
Starting this year and continuing through 2027 customers of the Joshua Basin Water District are going to see annual rate increases for water. Under the first proposed increase, the average household can expect to pay about $12 more a month for water. The special workshop at the Joshua Tree Community Center on Sunburst Avenue is to review the proposed increases and collect input from the Advisory Council and the public.
The rates are not yet set in stone as there will be a February 15 public hearing and protest vote. In this type of vote, those opposed to the increases must submit a letter of protest. Those who do not submit a written protest are counted as a vote in favor of the hikes.
Such votes require a high level of public participation and rarely succeed in overturning such proposals.
