So congratulations, everyone, for conserving water. Your reward? A rate increase to make up for the reduced revenue
For years we have been nagged to death about conserving water, so folks reluctantly complied and changed their behavior. Local government successfully created a sense of urgency, and the public overwhelmingly supports the conservation process.
Encinitas even made rules that dictated how the water authorities could charge for water. It was written into city ordinances, if residents met certain goals, rates would be at lower levels than if they didn't. But last week, many of the promises made to encourage reduced water consumption evaporated. By a 4-1 vote, the City Council threw those promises out the window.
One could equate this with Newton's Third Law of Motion: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." Our water barons essentially decided, why reduce the rates on consumers when there's no public outrage? I mean, when you're able to capture $100 every couple of months from a family, who in their right mind would allow that to go down to $80?
Only Councilmember Jerome Stocks voted against ignoring the city's own rules, set up to determine at what level residents will be charged. Councilmembers Bond, Houlihan, Dalager and Barth all turned a blind eye to their own ordinance. Is no one offended by their chutzpah?
So congratulations, everyone, for conserving water. Your reward? A rate increase to make up for the reduced revenue. Maybe they are banking on the model where they increase taxes on businesses; eventually they'll leave, and you'll have less water use.
No, they simply changed their mind about their willingness to reward residents for following the rules, a disingenuous move to say the least. What makes this move even worse is who ultimately suffers because the city has reneged on the incentive to conserve water and hold onto the money: Families and struggling businesses will be deprived of funds they could obviously use in these tough economic times.
It's unintended Government Life Lesson No. 258: Don't follow directions. Ever. It's probably a way to eventually suck more money out of you.
It's pretty obvious that City Council members will cherry-pick and follow only those rules that expand government and their own power. Bond, Houlihan, Barth and Dalager proved last week that they are happy to back down from rules that prevent government from confiscating more money, thus limiting their own power.
Makes me think of that great song by The Who:
"Then I'll get on my knees and pray
"We don't get fooled again."
SUNANA BATRA writes from Encinitas. Contact her at sunanabatra@gmail.com.
