EDITOR:
Douglas County customers of the North Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant can look forward to the escalation of their monthly sewer bill from the current $51.20 to $89.15 per month in 2015. That is a $38.13 per month increase - 74.7 percent. This is on top of the 29.2 percent increase last October. Where will it all stop?
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved this devastating plan on Dec. 2.
The figures which Public Works Director Carl Ruschmeyer did not provide to the board in their agenda packet includes annual 4.5 percent across the board employee wage COLA and merit increases. A whole host of other items were simply assessed an annual 3 percent inflation cost. Just where is the inflation other than in the utility rates?
That 74.7 percent increase will annually suck over $790,000 from the Douglas County sewer customers' wallets. That means those customers will have that much less to spend in Douglas County for clothes, restaurants, food, and other purchases thereby exasperating the already fragile economy. More businesses will lay off more employees or simply close altogether, more jobs lost, more bankruptcies, more foreclosures and more home value losses all of which will equate to less county revenue. That makes the plan stupidly counterproductive.
In addition to the re-allocation water rate increases which are already sucking more than $1 million per year from the taxpayer wallets, the commissioners is destroying the already fragile Douglas County economy.
Try counting the number of foreclosure sales listed in The Record-Courier. Last week, just one issue listed 112.
It is no wonder why so many are shopping and buying less or going to the Internet or simply moving out of Douglas County.
If the commissioners are truly interested in promoting economic development in Douglas County they will cease and desist and reverse these astronomical utility cost increases - especially in this time of economic distress.
They will have to stand up and say no to the continual wage/merit increases to staff. Just because an employee does his/her job well does not mean he/she is due a merit increase. It means he/she can keep his/her job. The Douglas County citizen is not a money tree to be plucked at will.
The commissioners will have to stand up and fight against all unfunded mandates - not just give lip service to the effort. We elected them to act, not just flap their tongues.
Any employer who is looking to locate in Douglas County will see these numbers and look the other way.
Just ask any local business owner how things are.
Stuart Posselt
Minden
