New bill offers compromise to water system fee
While there's been talk of removing a fee imposed on new customers that join the Guam Water and Wastewater System, others have argued it won't be fair to existing customers.
By KUAM NewsGuam - While there's been talk of removing a fee imposed on new customers that join the Guam Water and Wastewater System, others have argued it won't be fair to existing customers. But legislation has been introduced touted as a compromise to the system development charge.
In less than a month's time, a second piece of legislation has been introduced related to the Guam Waterworks Authority's system development charge. "I think Senator Ada's bill is very good compromise in recognizing that existing ratepayers who have built this system need some help from new customers, new rate payers joining the system by building their new houses or their new structures," said Simon Sanchez, chairman of the Consolidated Commission on Utilities.
Bill 112 was introduced by Senators Tom Ada and Rory Respicio to create an affordable housing system development charge, which proposed to make the SDC less burdensome for those who are building low cost and affordable homes. "So what Bill 112 does is it takes what is roughly a $5,300 charge for system development charge for water and wastewater and it says for houses that cost below $180,000, the system development won't exceed more than 1.2% of your cost of your house for water and 1.8% of your cost for wastewater," he said.
Sanchez says it's a fair compromise to what others have proposed recently including Senator Tina Muna Barnes' Bill 93 introduced on April 17. "It eliminates the system development charge for the first time homeowners of affordable housing and it works with the medium income as statute by HUD," he said.
Barnes says while that bill came at the recommendation of the Affordable Housing Coordinating Council, she's open minded to all solutions. "I'm very hopeful that this added addition to this new bill that we can bring both bills up and have a good public hearing and come up with what's best for the community as a whole," she said.
Sanchez agrees. "My hope is that senator now has two bills that have been introduced to look at the issues and he can bring the community together we can talk to Senator Barnes, the Governor and Mr. Webb and say where is the balance," he said.
Bill 112 also proposes allowing the SDC to be paid when the occupancy permit is issued as opposed to the way it is now where one has to pay the SDC when the building permit is issued.
Meanwhile, it was just last week when concerned resident Rodney Webb proposed a flat or percentage SDC to all users of the water and waste water system as a more fair and equitable cost to ratepayers than the current SDC. Sanchez says while the math is correct, he still disagrees on having existing rate payer pick up the costs for growth and new rate payers wanting to join the system. Senator Ada's office meanwhile says they hope to have a public hearing for both bills together.