Before the Public Service Board votes on El Paso Water’s fiscal year 2027-2028 water, wastewater and stormwater budgets, we wanted to hear from our customers.

With our budgeting season in full swing, we just wrapped up nine community meetings to include our customers in the process. The goal was to meet our residential and commercial ratepayers in each City Council district, listen to their concerns and answer their questions. We also learned what nearly 200 of them see as budget priorities.

The top three priorities mentioned were:

We deployed a small army of EPWater executives and professionals from finance, customer service, engineering, IT, conservation and communications to connect with our customers. At each meeting, we shared our fundamental challenge and the struggle of finding a balance – maintaining financial and operational system reliability while keeping our rates affordable.

We discussed how rates finance community projects, how conserving water can lower bills, as well as our customer assistance programs for those who qualify. We also shared how we spread project costs over the years to keep rates as affordable as possible and how we pursue state and federal funding to offset costs. To much enthusiasm, we also announced that we are working on a discount for senior citizens age 70 and older who are low water users. 

At the PSB’s request, we outlined four budget scenarios for customers:

The budget scenarios reframed the conversation, shifting the discussion from whether rates should increase to how much rates should increase based on operational and service implications.

Each year, we work to improve our budgeting processes. Transparency has helped establish greater awareness. Presenting the trade-offs associated with each scenario gave residents a better understanding of the difficult decisions facing the utility.

Community members appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and share concerns directly with EPWater leadership and staff. We are happy to accommodate, knowing that public dialogue can help build trust and goodwill.  

We scheduled another FY2027-28 PSB budget workshop on Nov. 4, where our team will discuss the community feedback we received and narrow the budget/rate options. The PSB’s final vote on the budget will be on Jan. 13. If approved, the budget, rates and fees will take effect March 1. For more information about EPWater’s budget, visit epwater.org/budgetinformation.

As always, we remain committed to using ratepayer dollars responsibly and to delivering high-quality, reliable services to our city – today for tomorrow.