预算包括.5% annual rate increases over next two years, anticipates small property tax increase
Metropolitan Water District’s 董事会 voted today to adopt a 两年的预算 that will allow the agency to continue delivering safe, 为南加州提供可靠的供水, while managing challenges brought by climate change and rising costs due to inflation.
To ensure the continued sustainability of Metropolitan’s water system, the $2.4 billion annual budget includes rate increases of 8.1月5%. 2025年1月1日. 2026年，由其26个成员机构承担. For treated water, the rate increase will be 11% in 2025 and 10% in 2026. It also anticipates a small increase to the voter-approved property tax Metropolitan levies, amounting to an average increase of $2-3 a month for the median value home.
以避免进一步加息, the budget also includes significant cost containment measures, including reducing departmental expenditures across various categories. 除了, Metropolitan is pursuing additional revenues through state and federal grants.
“We understand the impact rate increases can have on businesses and residents, so we have taken great steps to limit our increase as much as possible. But it is critical that we continue to fund investments and programs that bring safe water to our communities, 不让任何人掉队,” Metropolitan 总经理 Adel Hagekhalil 说. “困难的现实是, our costs have risen while revenues have dropped, so we need to take the fiscally responsible step of adjusting our rates.”
Hagekhalil explained that additional revenues are necessary because of low water sales, due to extreme drought and record-breaking precipitation. 除了, Metropolitan’s expenses have increased as inflation has driven up commodity prices, 劳动力和能源成本. 进一步, Metropolitan is facing the need to fully recover costs and maintain minimum reserves for unanticipated expenses, 在限制了近年来的利率增长之后.
The biennial budget includes capital investment spending of about $636 million over the next two years to ensure the continued reliability of Metropolitan’s distribution system and to increase the system’s resiliency to better respond to climate change. It also includes nearly $100 million in funding for conservation programs over the next two years.
While the budget continues to fund ongoing environmental planning work for Metropolitan’s 纯水南加州 地区再生水项目和州的 三角洲运输工程, it does not commit long-term funding to the construction of either project. Metropolitan will consider the future of those projects, and other large-scale investments in new local supplies, 存储, 保存及运送, 通过其 水资源适应气候变化总体规划 过程.
“大都会正处于转型时期, facing critical decisions on which long-term projects to invest in to help our region adapt to climate change. CAMP4Water will provide a framework to help guide these strategic decisions,大都会董事会主席Adán Ortega说, Jr. 说. “At the same time, we need to rethink our business model, so we can fund these major investments.”
“当我们开始进行这些重大变革时, this budget provides us the fiscal stability we need for the next two years,奥尔特加补充道. “The budget dovetails with the new business model 过程 to ensure the means for resilient infrastructure investment for climate adaptation and to address inequities such as the treatment surcharge.”
The budget and rates approved today evolved through months of transparent deliberations, 包括成员机构的投入, 有关人士及公众人士. Metropolitan’s board began discussing the budget in February and has held four public workshops since then to consider Metropolitan’s expenditures and revenues.
通过这些讨论, the board determined Metropolitan needs to take a step toward a more stable revenue stream, 而不是严重依赖水的销售, which can vary dramatically year to year based on hydrology. In response, the board decided to consider increasing Metropolitan’s ad valorem property tax.
Property taxes have been collected for decades to fund Metropolitan’s 国家水利工程 costs, 经选民认可. The last time Metropolitan raised its ad valorem property tax rate was 1990. 从那以后，它稳步下降到0.在过去的十年中，这一比例一直保持在0.0035%的水平. The adopted budget assumes the board will increase the rate to 0.8月份为007%.
除了 to providing a more stable revenue stream, increasing property tax revenues allows the board to lower the rate increase from what was initially proposed.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, 连同它的26个城市和零售供应商, provides water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the 科罗拉多河 and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, 回收, 存储和其他资源管理程序.
媒体 联系人