By Randy Kugler
A recent post (on social media) that attempts to portray my position as City Manager of Philomath on monthly water meter readings as being inconsistent in light of my filing of the Referendum in November totally fails.
1. Meter readings and billings are two totally separate issues.
2. Only 2 cities in the 2023 League of Oregon Cities Water Rates Survey cited by the author have any similarities to Manzanita with both of those Cities of Gearhart and Seaside billing water customers every 2 months. STRs in both constitute a much smaller percentage of the residential housing stock than in Manzanita.
3. Radio read meters installed in Philomath and are presently being installed in Manzanita are absolutely more efficient than manual reading. Again, this has nothing to do with billing efficiencies and costs for Manzanita.
4. Detecting residential leaks through monthly meter reading does happen but it is random and infrequent. In Philomath, it amounted to about .3% of all homes each month and consisted primarily of running toilets and leaking faucets.
5. The City Manager and City Council failed to correctly implement new water rates in July of 2023 through passage of the necessary implementing Ordinance. The City still has not taken steps to acknowledge that it violated its own Ordinance by collecting water charges that it was not entitled to for 7 months and owes customers who paid tier charges and late fees credits for those unauthorized billings.
6. It was not until the required implementing Ordinance was passed by the Council that citizens could file the Referendum to have a vote.
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Solution:
1. Citizens vote in November to return to quarterly meter reads and billing.
2. The Council then presents an Ordinance to citizens with an amendment that allows the City to READ water meters monthly. I totally support the City reading water meters monthly if the City can provide citizens the total costs including additional staff time to see if it makes financial sense in light of the benefits that it provides.
As Manzanita City Manager, the City provided residents with 6,000 gallons of water each month in the base at an affordable rate for families and seniors of modest means while completing some of the most significant improvements to the water system in City history. In recognition of these accomplishments, the City won the 1992 League of Oregon Cities First Place Award for Excellence for its Small City Water Conservation Program. The City’s lack of a creative and comprehensive strategy regarding the operation of our water system has resulted in the present situation of residents receiving less water, higher monthly bills and the message of how dare we seek to have a vote on the matter.
The City and its supporters want to distract citizens with personal attacks and innuendo in order to avoid a community conversation as to why residents should continue to subsidize water usage by visitors.The dramatic increase of TLT revenue during the past several years provides the City with the funding means to both restore our monthly water allotment to 4,000 gallons and keep rates affordable for all residents.
Why do you think the City is so resistant to using even 10% of this increased TLT revenue to the benefit of residents in this important matter?
If you are a Manzanita water customer either living inside or outside of the City and want to keep up with the issues affecting your water service, please send me your email at rkinor@gmail.com to directly receive these updates. Your email will not be shared with anyone.
*Here is a link to the Referendum: https://www.tillamookcounty.gov/sites/default/files/fileattachments/clerk039s_office/page/69486/29-179.pdf