Given the extremely high water rates in our community, a fellow Georgian reached out recently to inform this writer that a study committee had been established by the Georgia House of Representatives regarding the regulation of water rates assessed by private water companies in the State. It is anticipated that legislation will be introduced in the January – March 2025 legislative session. It was also noted that each member of our board had been contacted previously without any response.
Without a word . . .
For whatever reason, it appears that our leadership does not believe that they have an obligation to inform the community of this legislation or include the property owners in any decisions regarding support for the endeavor. In fact, when the discussion was brought up at the June 7th, 2024 meeting of the Big Canoe Water Committee, (1) the director liaison “explained that the Board was waiting for UIG’s response to its latest settlement proposal before it decided whether to join with other communities in support of the proposed regulation.”
Since that time, there has been no further discussion of the subject in the water committee minutes or any information provided by the Board in regards to possible settlements with UIG.
The right to know . . .
For those who are not aware and may be interested, an online petition supporting the legislation was established by individuals in other communities some months ago and can be found at the following link.
https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/regulate-water-rates-in-georgia
Further, the first meeting of the study committee chaired by State Representative Trey Rhodes will be held in Greensboro, Georgia on September 18th at 9:30 a.m. A link to view the live stream of that meeting can be found here:
https://www.publicnow.com/view/F81385101A9269DEEEEFE075103701D772AF794E
Keep in mind that this post is not a vote for or against regulation. However, this writer does believe it is important and useful for property owners to have access to information that may effect those of us who are customers of Utilities, Inc.
Note: Unfortunately, prior discussions and/or decisions between our Board of Directors and Utilities, Inc. have been conducted in secrecy and without involvement of the property owners.
. . . . .
If you believe the information contained on this site is important, please continue to share and pass it on. Should you wish to see additional articles posted in the future, please subscribe for an email notification or check back frequently. And as always, feel free to contact me at thepcrosses@gmail.com for questions or further discussion. Meanwhile, take care, stay safe and thank you for your readership.
Patricia Cross
10438 Big Canoe
References:
1) Big Canoe Water Committee Meeting Minutes, June 7th, 2024
(POAwebsite>login>POA>Committees>Water>2024>June).
I signed the petition as Big Canoe’s water rates are exorbitant. I fully understand that rebuilding our water system is necessary after decades of being patched up or ignored. Poor management is the root of the problem.
I know the POA has no control over UIG or the previous utility company but as serving the community as directors, boards should have been more involved. Now we’re held hostage to very high rates.
Without this article on Big Canoe Matters, most wouldn’t have a clue that an effort was started to investigate private utility companies.
Why did the board feel the need to discuss the matter in secrecy?
This excessive water cost affects those who want to sell their homes. Full disclosure by sellers would certainly scare prospective buyers away when they discovered the cost of this necessary utility. We can’t live without water.
Recently I had a tiny leak in a line which took months to locate, resulting in a bill of thousands of dollars, plus I paid over $900 to plumbers and even a forensic plumber! I didn’t know there was such a thing.
The staff at UIG was very helpful and understanding. Their efforts reduced my bill to $6,000. I appreciated their work on my account.
But there should be some control over private utilities to protect consumers who are hit with drastic price increases, many times without warning.
Maybe management should allow people who build houses at lower elevations to drill wells. On second thought, we all know why that has never been allowed.