I was disappointed to see the recent AZFamily TV segment featuring former Mayor Brigette Peterson, in which several statements about Gilbert’s water and sewer rates were inaccurate and misleading. The facts are straightforward. Every municipality in the nation faced extraordinary cost increases during the COVID era due to inflation, supply-chain disruptions and labor shortages, particularly in construction and utilities.
During that period, Gilbert voters were asked to approve a $515 million bond. I opposed that bond because its scope was overly broad, and I did not believe residents needed another property tax. Importantly, that bond had nothing to do with water or sewer. Those systems are funded separately through what is known as enterprise funds, which are entirely self-supporting.
Enterprise funds cannot draw from, nor contribute to, the general fund. Every dollar collected from water or sewer rates must be used exclusively for those utilities. If an enterprise fund issues bonds, the repayment comes directly from the ratepayers, not from taxes…