Marco Island Water War Continues

As predicted, and made to happen by the syndicate, the City of Marco Island has now proposed to change the water rate structure from an unfair, biased and discriminatory scale to an … unfair, biased and discriminatory scale.

Aren't you glad that the councilors and the myriad committees and pseudo intellectuals have been working on this plan for years and years?

As predicted during the campaign in the last non-election, the water rates would be used to continue to divide the residents of the island.

Using the latest "proposal" put forth by the City and its handlers, we performed an 8^th grade analysis and derived the following two charts – again, using their numbers:

In this chart we compare the existing inequitable rates to the proposed inequitable rates based on the percent change in the new rates. Note that the Single Family Residence (SFR) rate at all consumption levels not only continues to be higher than the Condo rate at all consumption levels, but the Condo rates for the first two level DROPS compared to the SFR rates.

(click to enlarge)

In this second chart we contrast the actual price per gallon per consumption between SFR and Condos. Same difference – the single family residences continue to pay more.

(click to enlarge)

What is most interesting – though not surprising given the syndicate's disdain for the environment of Marco Island – is that the more water you use, the less you pay per gallon.

Shouldn't that be the other way around? Shouldn't we encourage conservation by charging more per gallon the more water is used?

Anywhere else that would be the case. By the same cabal that thwarted and intentionally undermined the effort to install cisterns (despite state and federal grants making cistern installations FREE), and that told us that we all would have reclaimed water as part of the STRP (that of course was not true), we should not be surprised that they continue to encourage the use of our most precious local resource.

Hey, but how else can they pay for the decrepit water treatment plant they bought and the ever-escalating $400,000,000 debt?

Invariably the next iteration of the water wars will include a provision that the condos don't pay for water and their water is subsidized by the single family residences, and the hotels and the "restaurants" will get a tax break equivalent to their water bill.

Just you wait.