Commission Board pauses increase, demands oversight following recent water rate uproar
M.K. French
Farmer Staff Writer
The waters in McKenzie County remain far from calm following last week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, where the McKenzie County Water Resource District (MCWRD) faced a second wave of scrutiny over a controversial rate adjustment and a communication breakdown that left residents and local leaders blindsided.
A portion of the meeting, held on January 20, served as a formal follow-up to an uproar sparked earlier this month. As previously reported in The Farmer, residents were shocked by billing notices that appeared to show base rates tripling from $48.00 to $144.00. While the MCWRD later clarified that 99 percent of users would only see a modest $2.43 monthly increase, the initial lack of transparency has created a rift that the District is now struggling to mend.
Commissioners did not mince words regarding the District’s failure to notify the board of the changes before they hit mailboxes. The most pointed feedback described a weekend spent fielding a barrage of calls from panicked and angry citizens. Commissioner Joel Brown, who previously noted he only learned of the hike from these citizens, expressed frustration over the procedural oversight. “The commission was not made aware of the rate change,” Brown reiterated during the session. “I only learned about it from concerned citizens [over the weekend]: “My phone completely melted on Sunday…Is there a reason why you guys didn’t think it was important to inform us of what you were doing?”
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