There is one thing that the City Council could do today to make living in Durango more affordable: Lower our water rates.
Since 2017, the city’s water fund has grown from $11 million to an estimated $20 million. Durango doesn’t have a policy about reserves on the water fund, but the city of Golden does. Golden holds 25% of annual operating expenses in reserve. For Durango, that would be $1 million.
That means Durango is holding about $19 million in excess. Every water bill you pay adds to that amount. There were a lot of reasons people had in the past for setting high rates, but none of them have stood the test of time. This money does not fund conservation efforts. It has not been approved by taxpayers for future infrastructure.
Call your councilors and tell them it is more than overdue to roll back the rates. Families have enough difficulty scraping by in this town – the city shouldn’t unnecessarily make it more difficult.
Jennifer McGrath
Durango
