Las Cruces mayor: Water rate increase to take effect within a month

Las Cruces will see a water rate increase sometime in the next month, the mayor confirmed to ABC-7.

“The average Las Crucen should see about a two dollar a month increase,” Mayor Ken Miyagishima said.

It will be a 23 percent increase over three years, the mayor confirmed. In the next few weeks, Las Cruces residents will see a 15 percent increase. After that, the mayor expects rates to increase four percent in 2019 and 2020.

This will be the first increase from the Las Cruces Utilities Department in nine years. The department receives no money from the city’s general fund.

“They’re not allowed to make a profit,” Miyagishima said. “As wages go up, as health insurance goes up, as all these different factors go up, that is what is being used.”

In May, the business services administrator for the utilities department provided an estimate to ABC-7 of how much money customers will have to pay after the three-year increase takes effect.

Customers who use 5,000 gallons a month will pay close to an additional $3.46 a month, Provencio told ABC-7. Those who use closer to 10,000 gallons will see close to an additional $7.82 a month.

Las Cruces resident Greg Shervanick told ABC-7 that the sudden increase seems to indicate irresponsible management.

“Any business that doesn’t watch its budget for nine years and then expects the ratepayers to pay for what they didn’t do, I think is not good management,” Shervanick said.