water rates rise while common sense falls

[JaxGardenGal]

Our rates are going up in October but the SJRWMD is allowing a California based company to bottle water and ship it out of state (I believe for free?), not to mention what Central FL will do by taking water from the river. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for penalizing those who use too much water, but this comes just after the two aforementioned issues arise. WTF? I suppose it's just easier to collect from everyone instead of taking preventative measures to conserve water...like setting up a reclaimed water system for lawns or preventing others from siphoning water from the river. And now they are thinking about sending "water police" out to neighborhoods whose usage is high to make sure that everyone is following the restrictions. Wow, way to piss away more tax dollars on new employees, vehicles, gas, and maintenance. Someone please tell them to take their heads out of their asses.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Not to mention most bussiness dont have  rain sensors. Now we just had alot of rain right no need to water atleast for a few days, longer if it keeps raining. Drive around Jax and I'll bet you'll sprinklers on.

[tufsu1]

Don't blame JEA or the SJRWMD....the Florida Legislature was not willing to pass a law that taxed or charge a fee to the bottled water companies.

[jaxnative]

I heard on the radio this morning that because of "conservation" results and a slowdown in construction related water use our quasi-monopolistic electric and water supplier had no choice but to decide not to make the tough decisions that other businesses have had to make in the face of tough economic conditions.  So everybody, help JEA out and use as much water as possible so they will have no problem lowering rates back to the levels they deem necessary to continue their status quo. 

[CrysG]

God I can't stand JEA. They are the one of the main reason's I want to leave and move to Clay. My utilities for my 2bd apartment is $50 more than my parents 3bd house. I never have the ac on during the day and I don't even use my washer and dryer. They are a monopoly and everyone knows it so they can charge whatever they want and we can't do anything about it.

Jax, do you really think they're going to lower the rates if all of us turn all our taps on non stop? I doubt it.

[jaxnative]

Jax, do you really think they're going to lower the rates if all of us turn all our taps on non stop? I doubt it.

Crys, that comment was as exceedingly facetious as I could put it without resorting to language that wouldn't be acceptable on a public forum.  I agree with you on JEA!!!!

[mtraininjax]

Be thankful we have JEA, they contribute a BOATLOAD of revenue to the City. Try running the City services without that revenue.

[Springfielder]

That revenue comes from us....

[mtraininjax]

That revenue comes from us....

Exactly, a return on the investement. It could be worse and go to Georgia Power or Florida Power and Light, leave the community. The money we spend, goes RIGHT back into the community in the form of retail, property taxes, rent, you name it.

I don't like to pay more taxes, but if I am going to, at least I know the revenue is going to be spent here in Jax for the JEA hikes.

[tufsu1]

get real people...if JEA didn't exist, we wouldn't have the lowest millage rate in Florida!

CrysG...enjoy Clay County....I hear its a very diverse community with great economic development opportunities...and the commute is good too :-)

[BridgeTroll]

Are there a multitude of utilities to choose from in Clay to provide competition?  I have never lived anywhere that I could pick between electricity providers or water providers.  I have lived in many places and it would seem redundant to have competing utilities but I suppose it exists somewhere...

[Springfielder]

There's no competition what so ever....to bad we can't. The problem with the rate hikes is, had they used some foresight and common sense, they could have raised the rates a small percentage each year, instead of slamming us with several in just a couple years. They made it difficult for people on fixed incomes or those who don't make a great deal. To have increased it a bit each year all along, then people wouldn't be faced with such rate hikes now

[Jason]

Despite the recent rate hikes, JEA has offered some of the lowest electrical rates in the state.

In fact, as of this month JEA provides the cheapest residential power in the State and is still one of the lowest in the coutry.

Check it out:

In state comparison
http://www.publicpower.com/pdf/rates/2009/2009_april_rates.pdf

In and out of state comparison
http://www.publicpower.com/pdf/rates/jea/2009/jea_res_survey_april_2009.pdf


Don't know much about the water and sewer though.

[jaxnative]

I have never had many complaints abouts JEA rates.  I believe they have done a good job in keeping powers rates as low as possible.  My only beef is when you do what the water management division and providers ask and conserve a resourse and then are told you're going to pay more as a result of successful conservation efforts.  I know there are many fixed costs involved in the utilites industry but it's almost like the car dealer raising his pricing on vehicles since he's not selling as many!!

[Deuce]

I'm too busy and tired to go into a long defense of the raise in water & sewer rates, but suffice to say the complexities behind this are more than most people understand or in some cases care to understand.

For example, I've heard gripes specifically on the Newspaper boards that JEA needs to fire employees or cut salaries. They did just that last October. A large number of temp and contract employees were let go and capital projects were slashed. Appointed employees received no pay raise last year. Except for emergency situations, overtime was also eliminated. (Side note: City employees continued to draw massive overtime payouts.) If there was a penny in savings to be squeezed, it was squeezed. When JEA gets to the end of the current fiscal year, if they can't sustain the budget, they will look at all the same measures again. The problem is, unlike most businesses, employee costs and overhead, are a small portion of the budget (about 10%). If they fired half their employees, they would only cut total costs by 5%. Of course, who would fix the lines, answer the phones, keep the lights on. This is just one example.

To address a few of the comments here.

My utilities for my 2bd apartment is $50 more than my parents 3bd house.

If that's the case, then have an energy audit done. Also, stop and think what other factors might be contributing to the difference (age, insulation, actual usage, volume of space to heat/cool, appliances, etc.)

So everybody, help JEA out and use as much water as possible so they will have no problem lowering rates

This is just asinine. You should be conserving not to cut costs but for environmental reasons. And yes the more people conserve, the more expensive utilities can become. Why? Even though you might use less water, JEA still has the same system of pipes to maintain and needs the same number of people to maintain it, and those costs rise every year. I've still over-simplified here but you get the point.

They made it difficult for people on fixed incomes or those who don't make a great deal.

The new rate changes only raises the monthly bill by 5 or 6 dollars a month for 2/3 of all residential customers. That's pretty reasonable. I happen to fall within that group and I would consider my household upper middle. To me, water/sewer represents about 1.4% of my total monthly budget. JEA could double or triple the rates and it wouldn't impact my standard of living. If they did, I would probably rip out what little lawn I have (which uses almost half my water) and replace it with rocks. Show of hands, how many people on this board are going to have difficulty affording these changes? Followup question, how much water do you use a month? How big a yard do you have, if any? How many people in your household?