Insane Water/Sewer Rate Increase - Desoto/Fenney
 

Anybody notice the insane 30+% increase in combined water/sewer charges? Does the Developer continually seek out new ways to screw residents? I guess we’re just supposed to be an endless source of money for this guy. Let the new residents pay for their own infrastructure by building into the price of the homes. Despicable.

What does the developer have to do with the water bill?

Who do you think controls all the seats on all the water boards?

Are you sure you are reading your bill correctly? I don't save all of my statements, but just have one that was dated 11/2/2022. That statement had an announcement that a rate increase of 1% would be effective next month (ie November 2022) on water, irrigation, and sewer (Usage and Bases). Remember that water use is also used for sewer use. Check your usage for the cause of any significant increases. Irrigation would be expected to increase this time of year through the summer.

Not sure where you live but for those of us that live Districts 5 - 10 we elect the Board for NSCUD. Since I personally know people (residents) on the Board who ran because they are of the mindset that residents should have a voice in governing, I doubt they would be happy by your insinuation that they are somehow in the Developers pocket. Be thankful that there are people who will serve since most on here don't and love to make things up.

30% increase as of when? Do you have comparison figures for your claim?

And the developer has nothing to do with the water/sewage bill.

You need to check for leaks.

dude, you need to look at the volume versus the rate. . If you are just comparing total dollars, you are just blaming someone else if the volume is huge due to a broken sprinkler head or a leak.

We had a huge water bill, until we tested the sprinkler heads, which are set for 2-4 AM, and we never see them actually operate. One next to the street was broken off and was just watering the road at 100% of the flow. . . once fixed, our bill dropped back to normal.. . .

do tell us about your volume stats. . .

I'm with you 1000%. The watering schedule will change once I figure out the best alternative time with a little help from the senior peanut gallery. Asking for suggestions, please. I would prefer the evening if that doesn't hurt the lawn or bother the neighbors with the smell of the water. Thanks in advance. :pray:

Check your latest POA bulletin, significantly increased water bills have become a growing problem in all villages. So many instances of huge bills after having all leaks and sprinkler systems checked out. If you contact the people working on this at the POA, they can explain all the details much better than I. Faulty meters, faulty readings, and when people call to complain, Jacobs denies all such problems. POA is beginning to make some significant progress with this problem. With the help of the POA, people are beginning to get their meters changed, or read correctly, and the bills are going back to their normal level for the various months. Have hope, there has been movement, but you have to let them know you are having problems.

Inside your low voltage panel should be a sticker stating which days of the week and what time they should run. If you need help setting it up let me know. I’ll be up that way Wednesday morning.

Need to have someone look at irrigation system every 6 months. Bad heads, clogged heads, etc. worth the cost.

Worth repeating.

I have attached a fact sheet sent in February to NSCUDD board members by the District staff. The board is aware of the issues and will keep reviewing the situation with both staff and Jacobs. All meters may be replaced in the future with an advanced meter system.

Here is the article.

https://www.**************.com/2023/...-the-villages/

Somebody must pay, watering the beautiful flowers on the turnpike isn’t free… When you exceed your Base Rate, you pay dearly… be glad you have water

Wildwood Utility Dependent District purchased the utility systems from the developer.
While being in the public interest, sometimes the purchase price means that rates may go up to fund the purchase. Was the entity sold at a fair price, I am on the NSCUDD not the WUDD board so I will not comment.

Public Portal • CivicClerk

Do check for leaks. One easy way to do so involves turning off all fixtures in the house and observing the water meter; if the tiny float in the meter is moving then you have a leak. One rather insidious leak can be in your toilet bowl wherein the shutoff valve malfunctions causing the water in the tank to fill to the level of the overflow drain port. Water is continuously draining out the overflow port and you never hear it. Happened to a friend.

The developer has more to do with the water/sewage bill than you are giving them credit for.

- the meters were chosen by the developer and installed by the developer then sold to the CDDs. I own my house and am responsible for my house but I did hammer one nail into the framing or the roof and I did not install one inch of water line, the developer did all that. If something goes wrong it is my responsibility to repair but I know who was involved in the initial construction. If there is something wrong with the meters, it wasn't the NSCUDD who selected the manufacturer.

- reading of the meters and sending out bills seems to be done through the VCCDD which is a board chosen by the developer. Yes, this simply could be taking advantage of resources that are already in place but it is still involvement by the developer.

- testing of meters seems to be done through the VCCDD also

- the water/sewer infrastructure was designed and built by the developer then sold to the CDDs

- the maintenance of the infrastructure became the responsibility of the CDDs after the system was purchased from the developer. The need for such a substantial rate increase so soon after purchase raises questions about the way the system was presented and the way the CDD was represented at the sale time. Certainly, everything may have been above board and it's just unfortunate that maintenance costs have increased, but it does raise questions.

- the pressure on the NSCUDD to raise rates seems to be coming from the VCCDD. Again, this may be due to an efficiency decision where NSCUDD utilizes District Staff rather than duplicating efforts, but it is still involvement by the developer

So no, the developer does not decree what my water/sewer rates will be. However, the developer did build and sell the infrastructure that my rates need to maintain and the developer is advising the NSCUDD that my rates need to increase.

A few thoughts:

- Did you receive notice from your utility that the rates would be increasing 30%?
UPDATE: A post below notes that the WUDD/SSU increased water rates effective 2/1/23. The resolution and new rates can be found in the agenda items for the WUDD meetings. Fenney/Desoto were enjoying water rates lower than the rest of the SSU customers. As of 2/1/23 their rates were increased significantly to be the same as the rest of SSU.

- Did your usage increase 30% resulting in the increase in your bill?

- Others have mentioned the 20,000+ gal months that some have been reporting but if you were experiencing that then your bill should have increased much more than 30%

- If the increase was just in irrigation (or if your system uses potable water for irrigation) then it could be a broken sprinkler head causing a geyser when it runs.

- You can always go out and read your own meter to see if it matches the numbers on your bill (it most likely does)

The post is correct. Water was $1.79 per 1000 gal. It was raised to $6.14 per 1000 gal. Sewage was $4.89 per 1000 gal. It was raised to $7.19 per 1000 gal. These numbers are for the first 3000 gal. The water base rate was $9.25. It was raised to $10.87. An average water bill should go up less than $25.00. My bill indicates this applies to the villages of Fenny and Desoto.

Thanks, that’s NOTHING but very kind of you. I’ve got the timer no problem it’s the time that I need help with. What is the primo time for the water other than throughout the night.

I was catching hell at the other house for doing it my way but until the last year we were there my lawn was like a green carpet. At the new house they replaced the sod almost completely and it is healthy. I just don’t want to get murdered on the water bill. We already waste enough waiting for hot water in the master bath.

Thanks for the helping hand. Your the man.

Right now my sprinklers start at 5:00am. In another month or so when it gets hotter and I start running the sprinklers longer I'll change to 4:00am.

Watering information including recommended start times can be found on the Water Wisdom page.

There is the answer, the Utility overpaid when purchasing the assets. Someone has to pay for that mistake, and that someone is collectively the customers of the utility.

Is it just me or is it strange that we are charged for water in, water out AND sewage? Three costs. Am I missing something?

There are only two costs, water through the meter and sewage (based on the water amount).

What is the third cost?

Irrigation water in.

If that's the third cost then I don't know what is strange about it.

If you have a separate irrigation line (I do) then there are two water lines to your house, each with a separate meter and separate charge. Since it will go down the sewer, potable water to your faucets, shower, and toilets is then assessed a sewer charge as well. (Since irrigation water does not go down the sewer there is no sewage charge for that.)

I don’t know what they mean by water out. I don’t have that charge on my bill. Potable water, irrigation water and sewage.

Since it’s a fact (because its in TOTV) that the utility overpaid, it would be helpful to know the following:

What was the purchase price?
What was the fair market value?
How was FMV calculated?

That information is probably part of the xxxUDD (EDIT: Should be WUDD, not what I originally wrote) minutes from the time when they were purchased. The minutes are available from the districtgov.org site; you can search by date but I don't know if there is a way to search by keyword.

Not NSCUDD but WUDD as found on the Districtgov.org

Public Portal • CivicClerk[

look beginning on page 64 of the agenda packet for November 10th meeting

" The opportunity for WUDD to purchase SEWWCA, LLC will give local oversight to the utility that serves the local community. The local oversight provides for local decision making and rate setting instead of the Public Service Commission in Tallahassee.

Some conditions of the Purchase and Sale Agreement:
1. Purchaser shall have a period of sixty (60) days from the Effective Date to
conduct their own investigations of the Purchased Assets.
2. Within ten (10) days after the Effective Date, both Purchaser and Seller
shall retain at their respective expense a valuation firm and notify the other
party of their selection. The preliminary valuation is to be completed no
later than thirty (30) days from the date of the agreement.
The Seller and Purchaser agree that if the lesser of the two Preliminary Valuations is not greater than 5% less than the higher Preliminary Valuation, then the Purchase Price shall be established at the lesser of the two Preliminary Valuations. If the lesser of the two Preliminary Valuations is greater than 5% lower, but not greater than 10% lower of the higher of the two Preliminary Valuations, the Purchaser and Seller agree that the Purchase Price shall be established at the average of the two Preliminary Valuations. "

and they always say this -> page 236
"The District believes the existing Utilities’ rates are very favorable to other nearby facilities (attached Exhibit “D”) especially when considering that the Utilities’ facilities have all been built in the last six years. The Utilities’ rates will remain the same through such time of the Rule adopted by the District indicating any change or determination of fees. :angel:

My apology. I attended part of the NSCUDD meeting yesterday and had that in mind when I read the question. I should have remembered that this thread is about the area south of 44 which is under the WUDD as you point out.

Thank you for the clarification and actual data. . .

I thank you for attending the NSCUDD meeting. The meeting went from 3PM ending at 6:30PM

Doubtful when you have a monopoly corporation. . . monopolies always get higher prices