Some business owners concerned water franchise fee will make their bill too expensive

Some business owners are concerned their water bill is going to be too expensive.

That’s because El Paso Water Utilities is considering changing the way it collects its franchise fee.

Currently, it only levees the fee on businesses and churches – not homeowners.

But now it’s also considering charging homeowners.

Under that formula, some businesses with small water meters – like restaurants and stores – would actually pay less.

But businesses with big water meters, like industrial buildings, could pay a lot more.

ABC-7 spoke with one property owner who would go from paying less than $200 to almost $4,000 a year.

And the meter doesn’t use a lot of water. It’s used in case of a fire.

He says he’ll have to pass the cost to his tenants.

“It’s basic economics that when costs rise, prices rise and someone else is always going to pay it and it’s always going to be the consumer and that’s a beginning of an inflationary cycle. and nobody that i know likes inflation,” said Robert Marble, the commercial property owner.

The water utility is charging customers this fee because El Paso City Council charged it $3.5 million to balance its budget.

The Public Service Board is scheduled to make a decision on this on April 29 at the request of the mayor, who wanted more time for the city manager to work with the PSB.