Proposed Water Rate Increase & Rate Structure Changes

YLWD is proposing three changes to customer water rates beginning on July 1, 2012. The first would be a change to the structure of how the Monthly Service Charge is calculated, with larger meters paying a higher Monthly Service Charge than smaller meters. The second would be a revenue increase in our overall revenue of 1.5% in FY 2012/13, 2.5% in FY 2013/14, and 2.5% in FY 2014/15 which will be collected on the customers’ Monthly Service Charge over the next three years. Each customer’s proportional amount of the revenue increase is dependent on the size of the customer’s meter. The third would be a pass-through increase of approximately 5 cents per unit (748 gallons) on the Water Use Charge beginning on July 1, 2012.

Currently, all customers pay a Monthly Service Charge of $11.73 and a Water Use Charge of $2.52 per unit (748 gallons). The Monthly Service Charge increase would cover fixed costs, such as maintenance and capital improvement projects, and the Water Use Charge increase derives from pass-through costs from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).

For more information, see our F.A.Q. Sheet here.
For a list of customer APNs and corresponding meter sizes, click here.
For information on how to find your APN, click here.
For the 2012 Proposed Water Rate Increase Notice, click here.
For the 2012 Water Rate Study, click here .

District Revises Customer Fees

The Yorba Linda Water District Board of Directors voted unanimously on Thursday, March 8, 2012 to revise the District's water development and customer service fees. The Water Development and Customer Service Fees resolution was last revised in 2008. Staff thoroughly reviewed the current cost of service for the fees and in the majority of cases, due to new efficiencies, the fees have been lowered.

Several new fees were also added, which cover newly instituted best practices. The most significant change is that of the Late Payment Fee. Currently, customer monthly bills are due on the 27th day after the bill is generated and if the bill is not paid within 18 days a Notice of Discontinuance (yellow tag) is placed on the customer's door, notifying them that they have 72 hours to pay before their water is shut off. In an effort to provide another point of communication for the customer, a letter notifying the customer that their bill is past due will be sent the week after the bill is due, with a $10 fee for processing and postage of the letter. A yellow tag will now be issued on the 11th day after the bill is due if payment has still not be received. The fee for the tag will be reduced from $20 to $10, effectively saving money for customers who inadvertently miss the due date and costing nothing extra to customers who are unable to pay until they are issued a yellow tag.

Additionally, a soft credit check will be conducted on new customers to assess risk of non-payment, with a decrease in the time the deposit is kept decreasing from two years of good payment history to one year of good payment history. For more information, please click here.

DISTRICT TO REDUCE COSTS BY CUTTING PENSION BENEFITS FOR NEW HIRES

The Yorba Linda Water District’s Board of Directors voted unanimously on Thursday, January 26 to adopt two new resolutions that will trim the District’s pension packages offered to new hires. As a result, new employees will be enrolled in a Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) package based on the 2% at 60 formula as opposed to 2% at 55. In addition, new hires will have a 7% contribution to PERS come out of their paychecks. Current District Employees have their monthly PERS benefit paid by the District.

While the reforms will not make an immediate impact on the District’s Finances, the cuts will be a significant help to YLWD’s bottom line in future years. This comes on the heels of the District’s Board opting to try a six month pilot program of closing the administrative offices on Fridays, a move that could save thousands of dollars each year.

DISTRICT TO CUT COSTS BY CLOSING ON FRIDAYS STARTING JANUARY 1, 2012

In an effort to “tighten our belts” and explore initiatives to reduce operating costs further, the YLWD Board of Directors has voted to close doors on Fridays while extending our hours of operation on Monday through Thursday. The new schedule will go into effect on January 1, 2012.

District staff will maintain an on-call presence 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, to handle any sudden or unexpected issues or emergencies that may occur.

Starting January 1, 2012, the District offices will open its doors Monday – Thursday from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. – an additional half hour at the beginning and end of the work day, making it easier for customers to drop in, call the District with questions or to handle billing concerns. For more information please click here.