Spreading the water wealth

It appears that the consequence of not consolidating the county water systems' accounting has come to pass in the form of a subsidy for the Jobs Peak customers.

At no time was it practical to expect homeowners in the development to pay more for water than they did in property taxes.

With a lawsuit on appeal before the Nevada Supreme Court being stayed while the water rate process continues, it's no surprise the county came up with some money to reduce some homeowners' bills down from a possible $648 a month to something more manageable.

Even with the subsidy, Jobs Peak customers will pay the county's highest water rate, tied with Cave Rock, at $202.46.

We know there are people who say the county should never have accepted Jobs Peaks' water system in the first place. Maybe that's true. But that doesn't solve the issue.

What is true is that the county took on its obligations to its customers anticipating that growth would pay for improvements. Jobs Peak Ranch had 121 approved lots. The additional connection fees would have covered much of the improvements required to bring the water system up to standards. That didn't happen.

We know some other folks who would like some help with their water bills, like those living in the Fairgrounds and Sunrise Estates, whose only offense is living in a place where arsenic level was too high to meet new federal standards.