I read Mr. David Christman’s letter that tier pricing of water is in jeopardy. He apparently is referring to an appellate court ruling for a case originating in San Juan Capistrano. He is mistaken that it was tier rates only that were involved, however. The primary issue was a publicly controlled water company set tier rates without establishing the cost of service to justify the rate increases.
The court ruled that Proposition 218 was violated. This is an important distinction for ratepayers to understand. Locally, if the town of Apple Valley were to take possession of the privately owned Apple Valley Ranchos Water Company, citizens protesting rate increases from the town would need to get two-thirds of the voting residents to protest. That hasn’t happened in Apple Valley since Prop. 218 became law. Trash and sewer rates are regularly increasing. There is no ratepayer advocate if the town owns the water …