The Republican Party of Bexar County has expressed concerns about the recent spike in San Antonio water bills and the SAWS rate structure called “equity lens.” They feel this "equity" approach is nothing more than a radical “redistribution of wealth” rate structure that uses “conservation” as an excuse to punish some ratepayers.
Under this equity system, SAWS has an eight-tier rate pricing structure based on how much water a homeowner uses. Anne Hayden, the SAWS spokesman, says, “Water in the eighth tier (mostly the northside of SA) is 6.5 times more expensive than water in the first tier.”
SAWS uses water conservation to justify the SAWS rate structure. Hayden says SAWS can’t charge everyone the same rate because “that will go against our conservation ethic.” What about the “fairness” ethic?
SAWS admits the bulk of customers affected by the higher water bills are on the north side where there is more water use because of more private property and more affluence. The “equity” approach is designed to redistribute the wealth by punishing some for their use with higher rates.
Sadly, this is the same approach the City of San Antonio is using to give more money for streets and sidewalks in lower-income areas. Instead of providing equal services to all communities, these agency bureaucrats are favoring some over others.
The new SAWS rate structure is a socialist billing system that punishes some ratepayers unfairly. SAWS should use a fair billing where everyone pays that same rate for whatever water they use.
The Republican Party of Bexar County has rejected this tiered rate structure as unfair and they demand SAWS return to a system where all ratepayers pay for what they use. SAWS should serve the public, not control, punish, and reward ratepayers.