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Yesterday the Public Service Board, which consists of the Mayor and five members appointed by City Council, voted 5-1 to increase our water, wastewater, and stormwater fees for FY 2025-26 by 7.5% ($5.71/month) for the average residential customer.
Mayor Johnson, who was sworn in at the start of the meeting, declared he would abstain from voting for higher fees: “On this item I am gonna abstain from voting, only because I’m new to the Public Service Board and I think for the taxpayers I should stay out of this.” (See 38:04 in the video)
Johnson recently campaigned on lowering our tax burden and obviously did not want to break his pledge only two days after assuming office, so he let the five unelected members of the board vote for the increase without him.
Johnson’s cynical excuse (“I think for the taxpayers I should stay out of this”) is exactly the opposite of what the taxpayers expect from him. Mayor Leeser repeatedly and emphatically opposed water fee increases and Johnson refuses to take a stand.
Later in the meeting, Johnson feigned concern for the taxpayers, stating “Increases in rates and things are hitting El Paso customers pretty hard,” yet he refused to vote for their interests!
One salient feature of the current water budget is $126 million for projects to support new residential and commercial construction, so the taxpayers at large are subsidizing private development projects through their water bills.
Welcome to El Paso.
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