District Fees
Applewood Sanitation District Rate Increases
Applewood Sanitation District and its Board of Directors evaluates the District’s financials on an annual basis and takes rate increases very seriously. The District has prudently managed its finances to this point in time, however, aging infrastructure (nearly 70 years old in certain areas) is nearing the end or even beyond its useful life. Additionally, increased treatment costs from our treatment provider, Metro Water Recovery, and a limitation on revenues collected through property taxes (limited to a maximum of $200,000 in any given year) require the Board to consider increasing user fees to bridge the gap between annual budgeted shortfalls (i.e. expenditures exceeding revenues) to keep the District financially viable. Without future increases, the District will continue to draw down its cash reserve balances which are forecasted to become negative in 2028. The two figures below help illustrate this scenario:
Effective January 1, 2025, district fees will be billed on a quarterly basis. The annual charge will be $580, or four payments of $145 each. This rate change is a result of increased wastewater treatment charges and significant capital expenditures to ensure our system is in good condition.
Metro Water Recovery
Applewood Sanitation District does not operate or maintain its own wastewater treatment plant. Rather the District conveys all wastewater flows to Metro Water Recovery for treatment and discharge. As such, they represent our single largest operational expenditure which leaves our rates heavily influenced by the rate increases they pass along to us and many other Districts in the state. Metro reviews and adopts its rate increases annually while also providing guidance on projected future rate increases. A comparison of Metro’s projected Annual Charges percentage increases this year, versus the projection done last year during the 2023 Budget process is included in the following table: