Water rate increase totally unjustified

In a recent newspaper article, directors Rufener and Knopp assert the early necessity to rehabilitate Las Virgenes Water District’s infrastructure of pipes and pumps. These gentlemen suggest these costs will require the district to increase water rates to customers.

Evidently these directors have not considered methods used by many corporations to finance large expansion or rehabilitation projects.

Very often long term instruments, such as municipal bonds, will be used to secure funds for major projects. Draining money from operational budgets for this purpose might cripple a company’s functions.

Because large rehab projects will provide services for the future, it is appropriate that the customers served in the future be the ones who pay for them. In this way those served in the future will pay off gradually the bonded debt over succeeding years.

Directors Rufener and Knopp seem to have forgotten about the use of municipal bonds as a way to finance large rehab projects. It is unnecessarily worrisome that these directors should suggest that the rehabilitation of the water district’s infrastructure will make it necessary to raise water rates.

Vernon M. Padgett, M.D.

Director, Las Virgenes

Water District