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Former State Representative Joe Pickett filed a lawsuit against the City of El Paso in October 2020 for illegally charging water customers a franchise fee that constitutes an illegal tax.
The El Paso Taxpayer Revolt and El Paso Times previously reported that the City had essentially created a $30 million slush fund on the backs of El Pasoans by assessing a “franchise fee” on water bills.
On December 28, 2022, the 8th Court of Appeals affirmed that Mr. Pickett has the standing to sue and dismissed the City’s claim of governmental immunity.
After a long fight, today Mr. Pickett prevailed in the 384th District Court of Patrick Garcia.
The court ruled that the City’s franchise fee, assessed by the Environmental Services Department “is unreasonable, excessive, and/or intended to raise revenue making it a tax” and that it is “unconstitutional and should be discontinued.”
The Court awarded Pickett “damages for the $6 fee, attorney’s fees in the amount of $33,107.82, appellate attorney’s fees. in the event of an appeal, in the amount of $37,000, court costs, and pre judgment and post judgment interest.”
Mr. Pickett provided us with the following statement:
“It took four years and I was fought every step of the way by the City of El Paso leadership, but for today, you and I won a huge victory!
Without a doubt the facts, now a part of the public record, show exactly what I feared: The City of El Paso took advantage of us and created what they thought was an innocuous fee of $1.10 a month. When they saw no objection, they raised it to $4 a month, then to $6 a month, and creating a hidden tax that has been proven in a court of law to be a “tax” and not a fee.
They did not and do not not trust us to be told the truth. If what they spent it on was needed, necessary or of such great importance, then they should have told us, explained the need for a tax–not hide it for years.
What started as $2 million a year, is now almost $14 million a year, with no oversight or explanation for its use.
The lesson learned is even though we should respect authority, we have the right as private citizens to ‘question’ the authority.
I will continue to question authority.
The Genie is out of the bottle.”
We applaud Pickett and congratulate him on his victory. Bravo!
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