By Jim Keyworth
Gazette Editor
Frustrated with coverage by the Payson Roundup, Star Valley Mayor Bill Rappaport told the Gazette Sunday that he will not support a water rate increase in Star Valley.
“I went through the budget all this weekend and I don’t see where we have to raise the water rates,” Rappaport told the Gazette. “We’ve got enough money in our general funds and reserve funds to compensate for any type of emergency or any type of work that we’re going to have to do on that system – at least for the present and at least for my term as mayor.”
Rappaport, the prime mover behind the founding of the Rim Country Gazette, still doesn’t trust the Roundup.
“They misled everybody … that we’d already come to a conclusion, that we’re going to raise water rates, and we can’t without public hearings, number one,” the mayor said.
“All they try to do is get people in Star Valley riled up about one issue or another. We really don’t get accurate reporting. All they’re interested in is sensationalizing something so they can sell newspapers.”
Rappaport said the money that would be generated by a rate increase is minimal.
“I’m looking at the budget and even if we raise the water rates by $5, the only amount that will give us is between $12,000 and $15,000,” he said. “Why put people in harm’s way for that small amount of money when we’ve got more than enough money … to pay for this.”
Rappaport was also critical of Brooke Utilities President Robert Hardcastle, from whom Star Valley recently purchased the town’s water system.
“It could take us a year before we really understand the ins and outs of actually operating this water system because we’re getting no information from Hardcastle at all,” he said. “We had to fight with him just to get a list of the names of the people that have the service right now so we could set up the billing.”
Rappaport said the town is applying for “a couple of” grants that would be more than adequate to service the entire system. He estimated that the Star Valley system has between 360 and 380 customers.
But the bottom line as far as the mayor is concerned: no water rate increase.
“Financially the town is in great shape, so why burden the residents and make people unhappy,” he said.
2 comments:
No offense, but when the SV town council called in Buzz Walker for his take on how SV should handle their water business, the council lost all credibility with me. What a shock, Buzz told them they have plenty of water and don't need Blue Ridge. Not exactlty a shocking opinion from one of the men responsible for the Tower Well fiasco. What did they think he was going to tell them, that they were running low? Taking advice from the man who stole our water, Good thing SV incorporated...
I think you missed the point of what the Mayor said. With regard to the Town now takeing over the Brooks Water Company, and the suggestion of a possable water rate increase to current customers, he will do everything he can, to STOP that from happening.
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