Alright. I've got 10:00, so, let's get started. We'll go on the record. Good morning, everyone. This is the time set for a public comment and hearing in the consolidated matter of the applications of Global Water, Santa Cruz Water Company Inc, and Global Water Palo Verde Utilities Company Inc. For the establishment of just and reasonable rates and charges for utility service designed to realize a reasonable rate of return on the fair value of their property and for certain related approvals. Docket number W20446A250022 and SW20445A250023.
I'm Administrative Law Judge Chris Nichols and I've been assigned to preside over this matter. And let's go ahead and take appearances of the parties beginning with the applicants. Good morning, your honor. Robert Metley, regulatory counsel for Global Water Resources Inc. On behalf of Global Water Santa Cruz Water Company, Inc. And Global Water Palo Verde Utilities Company, Inc. With me at the table is my co counsel, Michael Patton, law firm of Snell and Wilmer. We also have our Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Chris Krieger, at the table. And I also want to point out in the room,
we have our President and CEO, Ron Fleming as well as our Chief Financial Officer, Mike Liebman, sitting on the side. Good morning, all. And for Ruko. Morning, your honor. Daniel Pasevsky and Sarah Barrias Kuhl Feruko. Good morning. Good morning. For staff. Good morning, your honor. Bridget Humphrey and Robert Ridenau are on behalf of staff. Staff. Good morning. Alright well we have some housekeeping to do. First and foremost we have a joint motion to continue filed by staff and the companies, as well as, quite recently staff's motion in limine.
Actually, I didn't interrupt you, your honor. That's my backup and, my legal assistant inadvertently filed it. So she has called down to docket and and asked that that not be submitted at this point so I'm hoping that will go away. But but I've got it here if we need it. Understood and I I I have read it and I did take it as a a backup in any event. So, alright so let's begin with the motion to continue. My understanding is that Ruko may oppose the motion to continue but I will first
give the move ins an opportunity to expand on the joint motion and then we'll hear from Ruko. So, Ms. Humphrey, I imagine that staff was primarily responsible for the motion to continue so I'll let you speak first. Certainly, your honor. Thank you. Yes, We learned well, I learned on Thursday afternoon, and I think there may have been a meeting the day before, where staff learned that the company had a significant amount of documentation that they wanted to, add or present to staff for evaluation. And then when I read the rejoinder testimony of mister Krieger,
that testimony discusses the additional documentation, which appears to be voluminous. The company's suggestion was that we proceed with the hearing at that point, and then these documents would be submitted later for staff to review, and then staff could file new schedules. My understanding from talking to staff, and staff has not yet had a chance to look at them, is that it's going to take staff approximately two months to go through all of these documents. They are extremely voluminous. I think there was a joking comment made during, the meeting between the staff,
employees and the company's employees where they were referred to millions, which we take to be hyperbole. But they are they are extensive. And, staff is concerned that it appears that the, the current amount that the company is seeking to include in plant on the Southwest plant is about 7,000,000, and these documents may bump it up to 40,000,000. So we're not talking just a little bit of supplemental information. We're talking a great deal more information. Staff does not think it would be appropriate to to handle the matter in just allowing late filed exhibits and and new schedules. I think we're going to want the opportunity to cross examine and to present testimony
regarding those schedules. So it seemed most efficient to us. We we did consider a motion in limine. But in the interest of fairness in getting this getting everything before the commission and and having full facts known, we reached out to the company and talked about continuing the hearing instead. We think it would be obviously in the interest of judicial economy. I have a feeling that whatever happened in these five days, would probably be moot or relatively moot by the time that we get through the additional documents or certainly would have to regurgitate some information.
So then we also talked about time time frame. The company doesn't seem to think it's going to take us as long to go through the documents as staff thinks. And that is why instead of selecting a future date for this hearing, what we proposed was a status conference, say, in the first half of January where staff has had a chance to take a look at these documents. And we can let everybody know where we where we think if we think we can do a a complete evaluation sooner rather than later and then set the new hearing date at that time. Staff and the and the company,
I think, are in agreement on that. I'll let you I I know that we we spoke with Ruko, and I'm not sure they oppose it or just were not able to speak with our clients so they can update us on that. That's where staff stands on the matter. Thank you, miss Humphrey. Mister Metley. Thank you, your honor. We we concur with staff given their concerns regarding their need to cross examine witness and file supplemental testimony, we did believe that it was prudent to continue the hearing. Because we couldn't determine how long staff would need,
we did propose and staff proposed a status conference in January, which would give staff the opportunity at least initially to look at the documentation, allow us the opportunity to supplement, information if they need it, data responses, things like that, to assist staff in their analysis. And we believe that if we do set this here, this status conference for January, at that point, we could go through and determine, what the feasibility is of timing, to continue this hearing. Thank you, mister Metley. Mister Bozewski,
RSchool, how does Ruko feel about the, the motion to continue? Thank you. It's been articulated. We needed to get together to decide what our position is and final on that. And, we don't oppose the, continuance, but there are a few things we'd like to say about it. And the first is, two things in particular. The first is, has to do with the timing as you recall. I don't remember exactly, when, but, it took a a bit to get to this time for the hearing. It was sort of,
in from our perspective, and I'm sure staff's too, it's in line with a whole bunch of other cases that are coming up. The flurry of cases that have been filed on the formula rate matter where it's taken us. So finding a time that's convenient or that works actually, it's not even convenience. It's actually that works. It's difficult. So when we got this date, to us, it was important to make sure we kept this date if at all possible. And now we've got sort of this late dump and rejoined or a couple days
before of all this information. But we are empathetic to to staff, and their concerns here, and we certainly wouldn't wanna deprive them or any party for that matter the opportunity to make their case. So that said, we we we don't oppose it. We're not happy about it. We'd rather get this done. We're at that process that that point where it's this far along. We'd rather get it done, but given the circumstances but what we don't wanna see is a couple things, and that is,
again, we've got our calendar here, and I can go through all the different months. Believe me, they line up APS, TAP, start with Liberty, end with EPCOR. We're at the July already before we're gonna have any breathing room. And so that's gonna take us six months as as you know. That's seven months. So we would ask you know, I know this is something we'll finalize in January, but we are gonna, you know, state to everybody here that we're we're not gonna be,
ameliorable to, excuse me, to, hearing anytime July or before. So that's one thing. And then the second thing is we don't want this to be an extended hearing in July whenever we do have it. In other words, we are not expecting to see a formula rate plan become part of this as we move forward. Slide it in is part of this case again, all that sort of those possibilities, we are planning and expecting to see what happens at the next point to be
specifically where we are now and then responses to where we are now, not in an enlarged proceeding to cover new things or uses that detail, but it is a time to let you know of our expectations and where we're coming from. So with that, we don't oppose it, and thank you. Thank you, mister Pozewski. Miss Humphrey, anything to add based on, Ruko's concerns here? Just briefly, your honor. We have also, among the parties, discussed the time for issues that the commission is facing in 2026. And that's one of the reasons we,
wanted to have the status conference in January because, certainly, the company expressed hopefulness, and I think staff does too that we can get this done more quickly. And we may be able to fit this hearing in prior to those, to the Liberty, TEP, APS case crunch that we're going to be in starting in April. So that is the hope, but we'll we'll have to see is all I can say on that. Thank you, miss Humphrey. Mister Metley, anything to add here? Yes. And and just just to give you around the the scope of what we're talking
about, we're we're talking about post test year plant that's in service now serving customers. We're talking about 110 invoices that we that we provided. Yes, it's a lot of dollars, but our hope was that staff would be able to get through it quicker than two months and that we could schedule a hearing before it was my understanding the crunch time was starting to get into March or March, March. Preferably we could schedule something prior to that.
That would be the benefit of of the prehearing you know, the scheduling conference in January. We could all come with our calendars and see exactly what we're talking about and see if it is feasible to have it sooner rather than later. Mister Metley, would, would the companies still, support the the motion to vacate the hearing and and continue it to a later date, if the hearing would not be able to be continue would not be able to be rescheduled until August. One second. Did anybody else lose connection because I did? Is this silent for anybody else?
Sorry. If you guys can hear me, I cannot hear nobody. Hi there. If if this is miss Juarez, have you called in to provide public comment? Oop. And she has been muted. Alright. Mister Metley. Yes. The the the company is between a rock and a hard place here. So we I mean, we we obviously, we wouldn't object to that, but we we we're hoping that the parties, make a good faith effort to try to get this thing scheduled and resolved sooner rather than later and hopefully in February, maybe early March. Thank you, Mr. Medley. Would the company like to respond to Ruko's concern about
the companies, trying to add a formula rates plan to, to this matter? Yeah. No. The company does not intend to expand its application or reintroduce a formula rate plan. Thank you, mister Medley. Mister Pesesky, anything to add you'd like to add? The only thing I would add is, went through the cases, but there is the Ebcor case, which is scheduled phase two for July 27 through July 31. That's our July. And the Liberty case, starts March 23 through March 27.
So those are the periods of time then, of course, there's TAP and APS. Thank you. Thank you, mister Pozewski. Mister Metley, one one question that I did have is, why does that the documentation was provided to staff so soon before our hearing was to begin? You know, the construction is is hard and, you know, the intent was to try to get it to them earlier in Q4. The construction is done. It's more the paperwork that takes the time getting the invoices, internal audits,
getting the information together, and we just we we we couldn't get it to we got it to them as quickly as we could. And but we we we understand the position that we put them in. We do. But it was it was not intentional. Alright. Well, thank you, mister Metley. I appreciate the discussion this morning. I also do, I I do have some concerns about how long it it may end up taking us to reschedule a hearing in this matter, but that notwithstanding, based on staff's and the company's joint motion and in the absence
of any formal objection thereto from Ruko, I am going to go ahead and grant the joint motion to continue the hearing to vacate the hearing that's scheduled for this week and we will go ahead and schedule a procedural conference for sometime in January to discuss future dates. Since we do have everyone here, it might be helpful if we could just, pick out a date right now that works with everyone's calendars because I imagine with the holidays there's a lot of stuff that gets booked for the first couple weeks of January. I was thinking potentially January 14,
maybe during the, the morning, 10:00 or so. That date works for the company, your honor. Does look like it's open meeting that day, your honor. That probably explains why it's open. If there's nothing else, it would be possible possible for us to do that as a short status conference probably it we could certainly make ourselves available. We wanted to do it by video, it could work too. We could Mhmm. Have two attorneys Well, if there are other dates available, then maybe we don't, maybe we don't use open meeting date just so we're not creating any conflicts unnecessarily.
What about Monday January 12? That works for the company. That works for Seth. Probably probably in the morning. Well, there's a hearing in the afternoon. But it's but we should be able to so I'm thinking of is there a room going to be available? Works for Ruko, your honor. Okay. Alright. And I I I don't see anything scheduled for the morning of the twelfth, so why don't we pencil that in, and I'll confirm that that's available before I issue a procedural order. Alright. So I will issue a procedural order memorializing that the, the joint motion was granted, that the hearing has been vacated,
and scheduling a telephonic procedural conference likely for January 12 at 10AM. Any other procedural issues that we need to address before we move on to public comment, mister Medley? No, your honor. Mister Buzewski? None, your honor. Thank you. None from staff. Alright. So with that, we'll, we'll move on to the public comment portion of this proceeding. So it looks like we do have several members of the public here to, provide comment. Each member of the public present today who desires to provide comments on this matter
will be permitted to do so. Each speaker is requested to limit their comments to three minutes. This time may be extended if appropriate to clarify the speaker's comments. If you're here in person and you'd like to comment, please make sure that you fill out one of these speaker slips and provide it to me. I currently have five speaker slips. And when I call your name, if you're here in person, please come forward to the podium. If you're on the phone, please unmute yourself by pressing 6, then please confirm or correct the spelling of your name and state the city or
town where you live. If you're speaking on behalf of an organization, please identify the organization and your position at the organization and please remember that each speaker is requested to limit their comments to three minutes. Alright, so let's begin with our in person public commenters. So I'll begin with Vanessa Binkley, last name b I n k l e y and first name is two n's and two s's. Good morning. If you could just, make sure that the green light on the microphone is on. It's on, your honor. Go ahead. It's on, your honor. Good morning. As stated, my name is Vanessa Binkley.
Sure. There we go. My name is Vanessa Binkley, b I n k l e y. I am a resident of Maricopa, Arizona. I've lived there going on four years. I live in the lakes at Rancho El Dorado. And since, we have moved, we moved from the Phoenix area to Maricopa and were very surprised when we got our first, water bill that it was $100 in fees just to be connected to the water and then the usage was on top of that. I understate there was we don't have a selection for who we can choose to
have our water. And I understand that Maricopa is a little bit far from Phoenix, you know, Central. However, the quality of the water that we receive in August, there was E. Coli in our water. We were not notified as consumers of the water until the problem had been fixed. The quality of the water, it's not drinkable. We have to have RO systems and soft water systems in our homes causing, you know, thousands of dollars, just to have so our pipes don't rust out and we can drink the water
that comes, you know, from from the RO system. I understand that there is inflation and that costs increase. I get that. What I don't understand is how a 19% hike to our rate, can be instituted when they can't even get the quality of the water for us, you know, to be to be decent. I think I speak for a majority of Maricopans as well that, wanted to be here but could not. Having, you know, this at 10:00 in the morning in the middle of Central Phoenix when people work,
is not convenient. Facebook was very full with comments of people who wanted to be here but otherwise were not able because of other obligations with employment, etcetera. So I hope that my comments, you know, against the rate hike, I hope I can speak for our fellow Maricopans and my neighbors in saying that, you know, a 20% hike when we haven't even really been informed what the hikes, you know, are for you, say, for added infrastructure, well, we're already here. If you got to build more infrastructure,
give that to the builders, work that out. So, thank you for giving me the opportunity to, speak. I apologize for not having a formal speech, but, I I think I speak for the majority of Maricopans when I say that we do not support the 20% rate hike. So thank you. Thank you, Ms. Dinkel. Alright. Our next speaker is Vincent Manfred Manfredi, m a n f r e d I. Yeah. That's me. Good morning. Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. The reason I was here today is because, we have a lot of folks in the city of Maricopa that can't make it
to these meetings, of course, because they're during the day. I'd like to offer that if you guys ever need a meeting room, the, city, council chambers in the city of Maricopa is pretty big, and you guys can all fit. Just let us know, and we're happy to host and have you guys come down. Like was mentioned by Ruko, I, you know, I wanna make sure that we have, transparency in this and understanding. So I'm here on behalf of many residents, as I said, who are not able to, come out today. I don't wanna say that I'm not here so that you guys can prejudge the outcome of the case or whatever it is.
Maricopa is a fast growing community, tens of thousands of households served by a single water provider. Residents do not have an option to share, like was mentioned earlier or not to shop, which was mentioned earlier. For that reason, the rates, the rate setting process matters deeply because any increase directly affects, families, seniors, and working households with no alternatives. This is not a request for different treatment or an argument against infrastructure improvement or responsibilities, or responsible utility operations. It's a request for fairness, transparency, and thorough, weighing of evidence,
which is important, which is why more evidence is provided. We need some more time, so that's a good thing. This is not, I'm not here to to be the guy that's saying we can't have any increase. We can't have no increase, we can't we shouldn't do anything like that. What we need to do is make sure that we look at everything and why an increase is being asked for. Many residents in Maricopa already pay high water bills, higher water bills in surrounding communities. A proposed increase of this of any size raises a legitimate questions, and people need to understand why it's being asked for.
So I asked Global, the company, to make sure that they're out there talking to the people. And, again, I offer the city by the way, I'm the vice mayor of the city of Maricopa in case I didn't mention. So, I offer the council chambers whenever you guys wanna come in and have a conversation with the people of Maricopa. It's good to have that conversation and that back and forth to understand where things are going and and why. And you can ask a lot of people today, and they don't even understand the process and or why global is asking for an increase, which was just mentioned.
It's you don't know why. But, I know why, you know, because I speak with, Global. But we need to have more and more of that information out there. I encourage the commission to thoroughly weigh all evidence presented, including customer billing experiences, usage patterns, population growth, the cumulative burden placed on households. I would like to also ask that you consider the unique position of communities where monopoly services exist, which is that's what it is. But then again, I've been I've been known to say that the city of Maricopa doesn't exist without Global Water.
So it's we have to work together. To the public, I encourage you to participate. I want the public to come out, talk, and and call global warming, set up meetings with Ron, chat with them and understand why. To the commission, I I'm asking that they continue to apply the role of independent regulators with an eye towards balance, balance between the needs of utility, the people it serves, and balance between financial justification and affordability, and balance between growth and fairness. Thank you for your time. Have a great day. Thank you, vice mayor Manfredi. Alright. I'm ordinarily not in the position of responding to public comments,
but since we have heard this mentioned a couple times so far, I just do want to mention there was a public comment on 10/08/2025 at 05:00PM. In cases like this we do try to schedule at least one public comment for after hours for the reasons that have been noted just so people who work during the day are able to provide those comments. Alright, our next speaker is Rocio Ibana, I b a n a? I b a r r a. Sorry. Oh, Ibarra. Yeah. Good morning.
Good morning. Judge, your honor and everyone. I'm sorry. I'm nervous. I'm usually not the person to come out and speak, their thoughts, but I felt like today was very necessary. I did rush down here, so that's why I look crazy. After dropping off my kids from work, I happened to have the day off, so I made sure to attend. I know that a lot of people in Maricopa unfortunately had to make the the hard choice either to go to work or attend, to this hearing. And, unfortunately, it they're hard times. So everyone, of course, is going to choose to,
attend work. I've been living in Maricopa for five years in the Maricopa Meadow subdivision. I'm sorry. I'm nervous. I just I'm totally against the 20% increase as it is. Right now, we're just paying a $100 in fees. And then after that, it's, like, our usage. And I feel like, that would really hurt us financially. I understand that there's changes and everything, and maybe I don't understand the whole, logistics of it, but it is a lot for us as, Maricopence to be paying more. There's no other choices.
And, unfortunately, it feels like they can charge whatever they want because they can't, because there's no one else that'll be we're stuck there. We can't make any other choices for to have running water in our households. And I know that a lot of people wanted to be here today, but, unfortunately, they don't either have the time to get on the call or drive here. And this is all I wanted to say, and thank you so much for your time. Thank you, miss Zabara. Alright. Our next speaker is Terry Clark. Sorry. Is it is it Clark? Clark.
Yes. I'm sorry. C l a r k. Yeah. My hieroglyphics get in my way sometimes. I apologize for that. My name is Terry Clark and thank you all for being here and, hey Ron. Anyways, I represent or I sit on the SUNYDA HOA board as a person at large and I also am a private resident and I have two homes in the city of Maricopa. I'm here to oppose the rate increase requested by GWR. This includes the cost incurred by the HOAs when GWR discharges water into the 404
Wash. Sanita has budgeted for the 404 Wash cleanup $28,500 for 2025. Sanita has also paid $5,400 to install a four inch tubular fence gate on cow path, preventing GWR from driving on private property. There has been there have been multiple conversations to stop this intrusion with GWR, but the right they discount, and are discounted, excuse me,
me, by the workers at GWR. GWR does have a right of way on MCG Highway, not on Calpath. Province has allocated $4,500 for the four zero four wash cleanup. There are additional expenses incurred by Rancho Eldorado HOA, Villages HOA, the Duke Golf Course. Each group must pay or must clean up and repair the damages of the 404 Wash? Why must all affected be forced to pay for the damage and vegetation growth that
occurs yearly? Sunita, with six other HOAs, used potable water irrigation. That is in, of this increase allowed, the increased total of irrigation to the home is 13.75 Now you calculate that all out, they're going with a 19.905% for the first year and a 19, 9.905% and for the total increase of 19.81%. This information came directly from GWR at a meeting held on 10/16.
GWR installed, GWR, installed a water system on a Sonoran Desert Parkway. That build out has not developed. This expense included capital infra infrastructure developed with and only two developments built. Multiple housing and business plots are vacant. This is also factored into the GWR current rate increase. GWR is planning to invest in capital investments South Of Akshan to include water lines and recycle infrastructure improvements South Of Loews and Desert Cedar is to close the loop.
This project is scheduled to maintain water pressure, eliminate the standing water on a non looped system. GWR is planning to install a new standby GWR is planning to install a new standby diesel natural gas power generations at all stations. This includes recycle and potable water pumps. When these power plants and wells are operational, GWR will be installing lightning rods at all collector stations and pump protection. Demand levels. GWR has water rebates for both private and commercial users, turf conversion, plant,
selection, and rainwater monitors for irrigation valves. Valves. HOA with recycled water, the question was asked with the water rates increase of 19.2 and the requirements of the HOA to install signage, and this is in reference to the recycled water that they have. Who is going to pay for the signs? Who is going to help apply it? Who is going to take care of it when the public interest is involved. All of this information was done and these increases hit
every individual. We have potable water in seven for irrigation for seven HOAs. GWR just went through a rate increase, they're finishing it, and now they're asking for another rate increase and then on top of that, they are asking for a continued COLA 2.3% increase yearly. The seniors only have gotten a 2.3 rate increase this year alone. So we're confused. At a 19.2% increase and all of these factors that they're trying to install under this rate case,
that's our concerns. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Clark. Alright our next speaker is Christina Dugan, d u g a n. Good morning. Good morning. And my name is spelled right on that paper. I spell it funny, so I don't know if you need that or not. Are you okay with on the paper? That's fine. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Tina Dugan. I'm a Maricopa resident, a homeowner, and someone who's been deeply involved in our community for many years. I'm here today to speak against Global Water's proposed rate increase. Waste and wastewater are not optional services.
People can't shop around, they can't cut back below a certain point, and they can't avoid the bill when it goes up. That's why this case matters so much. Global Water is asking for a significant increase at a time when residents are already stretched. Food costs more, insurance costs more, power costs more. And for many Maricopa residents, the water and wastewater bill is already one of their largest monthly utility expenses. What is especially concerning is that the Arizona Corporation Commission has reviewed this case and concluded that customer bills should go down and not up.
When staff analysis points to lower bills, approving an increase undermines public trust in this process. Another major concern is who is being asked to pay. Current customers should not be on the hook for infrastructure built to serve future development, And they should absolutely not be subsidizing capacity for large industrial users like data centers, which use enormous amounts of water and are coming to the Pinal County area, which is where Maricopa is located, because that capacity is profitable to provide. Existing benefit directly from. Growth should pay for itself.
There's also a fairness issue in the rate structure itself. A large portion of these bills come from fixed charges rather than the actual usage. This means conservation is not rewarded. Seniors, single person households, and residents on fixed incomes pay nearly the same as larger households even when they use less water. This is not conservation friendly and it's not equitable. No one here is arguing against maintaining a safe and reliable water system, but rate payers deserve transparency before paying more. They deserve clear timelines, clear deliverables, and clear accountability tied to any infrastructure investment.
Maricopa residents have paid attention. They've submitted comments, and they're asking a simple and reasonable question. Why are we being asked to pay more when the evidence says we should not? Today, I'm asking you for three things. First, give serious weight to staff's findings. Second, reject rate designs that place a disproportionate burden on low use customers. And third, deny this rate increase as it's submitted. Basic utilities should be fair, predictable, and reasonable, and people should not fear opening a bill for a service they cannot live without. Thank you for your time and your service to the Arizona public.
Thank you so much. Alright. That is all of the speaker slips that I have, so we will move on to our telephonic participants. And the first caller I see is Brad Follett, f o l l e t t. Mister Follett, are you able to unmute yourself? I think it's star six. Right? It's on mute. I can hear you on a second. Thank you, Judge Nichols. Thank you, everybody that's present. My name is Brad Follett, f o l l e t t. I am a resident of Maricopa, Arizona, and I live in Alterra North, subdivision. I'm here on phone today to make an opposition and to oppose the rate increase
by Global Water. If you're gonna proceed and have other hearings, I would hope that you would also give the public an opportunity to to speak again for any new information that comes up. I have tried to approach this, and I had a different light. I have, over fifty years of experience with water and wastewater. I've spoken to, Global Water on this matter for rate increases starting in, May and also on June 25. Had a formal meeting at their office at Maricopa to no avail. Nothing was, accomplished. They refused to even talk about water rates.
Then we had an incident with, E. Coli there. Their claim that they have a safe policy and a safe water system is untrue, as a matter of fact. But on November 25 that, several of us gathered together, and we have filed a joint lawsuit against them and superior court, regarding the E. Coli issue. When we look at the rate increases of 19% or more, there should be a downward departure. We're looking at other water rates, especially at Phoenix that has a water treatment plant, two of them, five water treatment plants and two wastewater plants that's compromising,
comparative value, then we could do this for about $69.46 a month instead of what we are paying. Then we have to do the evaluation of the new information they're gonna provide and what's gonna happen with that. HOA's have their rates going up. We have businesses, commerce, and industrial facilities as well that have, their rates that are gonna go up. So it's just a spiraling effect over the past few years without a a rate increase. So there's a lot of fear going on with that, which is which is normal. So an abundance of all the information that's going on,
gathering this together, A rate increase is not appropriate. It's not just. It's not fair and not reasonable. The rate of return for last quarter was 19%. They purchased seven new utilities, so they're not brave. If they need money, they can get money from other sources. I would like you to take attention into my, pleading that I filed for a objection in writing and that, this matter that I wrote about to be referred to the state attorney general for investigation and prosecution. Thank you. I return my time. Thank you,
mister Follett. Alright. Our next caller is Andrew Routley or Routley, r o u t l e y. Good morning, everybody. Can you hear me? Yes. We can hear you. Thank you. Please proceed. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Andrew Routley. I have lived in Glenwild, Maricopa since 2010. Before I proceed with my comments, I would like to understand why I'm only now just hearing about this this hearing, and the one that I missed in October. This is critical for the people of Maricopa to know about, so I'm wondering what the communication procedure is and how we can improve it next
time. But that's, I guess, spilled milk. Anyway, I am here as a resident of Maricopa to voice our collective outrage over these proposed global water rate increases that the ACC are now considering. Water rates are not merely an inconvenience. They are a huge burden on the hardworking families, seniors, and more importantly, low income earners of our community. I moved to Maricopa in 2010. In that time frame, our water rates have almost doubled due to the two increases that the ACC approved.
We are already paying between $30 and $40 more per month than what we should based on the original budgeting metrics projected during the 2005 boom years, which, I might remind everybody, happened again right after COVID. To approve yet another increase shows a blatant disregard for household budgets and places undue financial strain on all of us. The company's argument that this is necessary to keep pace with inflation or fund essential investments rings a little hollow when their rates in the last fifteen years have already
earned them huge revenue. When I first moved to Maricopa, there were about 30,000 residents providing Global Water its revenue stream. Today, it is almost triple that, but I'll let you do the math on extrapolating their profits. It's all public record. Keep in mind, Global Water is a Wall Street listed company whose management team is rewarded with bonuses based on the outcome of procedures like this. Effective immediately, I would propose the following. Point number one, a full scope independent orders of Global Waters Maricopa operations verifying the claim operating expenses
and the proper classification of all capital expenditures. This does not include entertainment, salary, or bonuses. The audit should be conducted by a third party selected by the community and not by Global Water and not by the ACC. In other words, do these infrastructure costs subsidize future build out, and do they subsidize data center build out? If so, we don't wanna pay for it. Point number two. Given the two major rate increases since 2010, Global Water has already enjoyed years of inflated profits, spiked particularly after COVID.
The burden of proof now rests entirely with them to explain why we should be mandated with a 20% why we shouldn't be mandated with a 20% reduction, not a 20% increase in water rates. Finally, point number three. As the Arizona Corporation Commission itself has clearly failed to provide the community with any meaningful relief from this price gouging. I would like to understand the escalation procedure when government failed to phone people like this. In summary, I regret to say we don't have a global water problem.
In my opinion, we have an ACC problem. It is the ACC that has failed to give us any meaningful relief after fifteen years of this price gouging. Likewise, it is the ACC that holds these proceedings at 10AM in Phoenix while we are all at work and then declares, and I quote from a magazine, despite the outcry, not a single resident attended the ACC October 8 public hearing, unquote. Finally, it is the ACC that is on the brink of confirming our greatest fear that you guys are not our protector,
but global water's enabler. You can correct this today. Vote no on a 20% increase and yes on a 20% decrease. Thank you for your time. Thank you, mister Riley. Our next caller is Marcela Samuel, s a m u e l. Hi there. I hope that everyone can hear me again. My name is Marcela. I'm actually in the middle of joining a meeting right now at work. I I believe a lot of Maricopa residents are, so I don't have much time. But I am opposing the 20% increase for the water bill,
and also asking for a 20% decrease on the water bill. The the standard amount is up to $4 already. My question to that is where is that $100 coming from? I have been a resident in Maricopa since 2021, and I own two properties one in Altura and another in. I am a a mother of four children, and I just I I kind of am a little, taken aback. I'm also a, employee of Southern Urban Development that these,
board meetings or these meetings that are taken place are taken place at 10:00 in the morning when we are all at work and no notice is given. So that my next question is why is that so? What is with the late notification, even with the E. Coli, situation that we have to learn later about? I wanna thank you today for your time. Again, I wish I could speak more to this, but I I am am limited. I'm literally breaking like totally things. Thank you so much for your time today. Thank you, miss Samuel. Alright. Our next caller is
Myra Juarez, j u a r e z. Yes. Can you guys I'm a I think I'm I'm a muted. Okay. My name is Myra Juarez. I have been a resident, at Maricopa on and off for about ten years. Recently, I mean, I'm just here to speak on this increase that I just heard about, literally, like, thirty minutes ago when I was scrolling on Facebook. I am a laid off corporate facilitator traders, and I lost my job couple months months ago. And this 20% increase is definitely gonna affect me and me already struggling to pay
my a $120 a month in water that I don't even use. Okay? That that's my whole issue. Why why are we being forced to pay for something that, honestly, two big companies, right, Global Water and this new data center that you guys are gonna provide millions of of gallons of waters to. You guys are not thinking about us. Right? Maybe change the rates for them. Give them give them a rate based on how much water they use. Charge it lower, charge it higher. Why why are we having to pace it up?
Okay? Most recently, I had a I had a leak in my house. Not a leak. My somebody decided to run the timer on my landscaping for for a long time. And I understand, you know, we gotta be productive and kinda look into that. But, I mean, come on. As a business, you guys should also send, hey. Notification. FYI, there's a big, you know, increase in usage. People, I understand you guys have apps. You know, we have websites we can do that on. However, it would be nice on your guys' end to provide that information. Again, with the whole e coli outbreak thing,
what what kind of you guys are a water company for thousands of residents in Maricopa. People drink you people drink the water. People put ice in their cups with e coli water. This is this is crazy. This is it's it's just unbelievable to me that there was no communication on that until you guys had already resolved the issue. That as a company customer service, you guys might wanna delete customer service off your website because that's to me,
that's unbelievable. What else? Bills, e coli. I mean, every sorry. Go ahead. I have a 77 page. There is there was a lot of Maricopa residents that did were not able to to attend because, again, right, everybody works. When employed, I was not able to go to the Washington office, but here I am on the phone, which maybe next time I I don't know. Again, goes back to the communication. Right? I'm sure there's you know, I am a 100% sure because I'm on I'm on social media. There is thousands of Maricopas constantly talking about Global Water.
So I don't know if you guys I'm sure you guys have somebody that can look into that, but maybe, you you know, something if you guys care about customers, read into those comments. That's all I gotta say. Thank you guys so much. Thank you, Judge, for your time. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, miss Suarez. Our next caller is just, listed as Ariel. Ariel, if you could, please state your first and last name and spell your last name. Can you hear me? Yes. We can hear you. Okay. Can hear you. Sorry. I didn't realize the importance of the last name. Apologies. My last name is Hauger, spelled h a u g e r.
Thank you. Please proceed. Okay. I, just wanted to, thank you all for talking with me or letting me speak today. I'm a little nervous. Sorry. I just wanted to, express my opposition to this rating freeze. The first thing that I wanted to bring up is a lot of people say that we haven't been able to attend because of work and everything. I have literally been looking, trying to figure out when these meetings are, and I can never find them. And since hearing you guys talk today about scheduling a meeting in the future, Why are we not receiving written notices of when these meetings are going to attend?
I only knew about this phone call because some anonymous member happened to post it online yesterday, and I happened to see it at 11PM last night. So I, would have This one as well. So I just wanna bring that up. I also just wanna bring up the fact that this rate increase is a little extreme. I have been here, for over ten years here in Maricopa, living in my second house, which I had to move to to lower my monthly payment because the bills are so high. And I am single. I have disabilities,
and I live alone in my house. I have a I don't have a water softener because that would use extra water. I don't have a pool. I, didn't, you know, do any landscaping besides this right now that the HOA requires because of the water bill. And I'm still paying a $110,120 dollars a month for water when I barely, like, you know, one shower a day. Like, I started, like, skipping showers at one point to see if I could lower the water bill. Like, no. You can't. It doesn't go down. I'm a a single person.
You know what I mean? I don't excessively wash clothes, nothing like that, and I'm still paying a $120. And then there was a time that I set up notifications for excessive use on the water, And I was getting like, oh, you're spending 600, you know, gallons of water in one day. I'm like, woah. Like, hello. I'm by myself. You know? So I would call them up, and I'd be like, do I have a leak? Like, can you tell me what time? And they're like, oh, we don't see a leak at all. Everything's fine. And I'm like, what are you talking about? How do I, a single person, use 600 gallons in one day? And it turned out that I had a huge irrigation leak that I couldn't see
because it was underground, but Global Water was telling me, oh, you're fine. There's nothing wrong. And so that has a little off there. Like, they would even send someone out to try to help me figure it out on my own. And like I said, I don't have anything but the front landscaping. You know? And then as someone who lives paycheck to paycheck and, is trying to find renters and things like that, which is extremely hard because, you know, there's so many rental opportunities down here, like, I can't handle a higher bill. I'm already paying way too much money for water that I barely use.
And like they said before, like, it is a bill that you have to have. Like, you can't not have it. You have to have water to shower, things like that. I, myself, don't drink the water. I just don't, you know, like the space to tap water in the first place. But, they use holy E. Coli thing. Like, a lot of people are like, oh, people drink the water. Well, you could also get E. Coli by just showering, by washing your hands, like, you shower water goes in your mouth, things like that. Like, you could still get E. Coli doing that. And I was a little, what's the word,
like, affected when we weren't notified. And then even when they said, oh, it's resolved, they did tests, and it still wasn't resolved. So even when they said it was resolved after, you know, the regulations of when they're supposed to tell us, it still wasn't resolved for another week or so afterward. People were still getting sick. It's a little concerning. I have a lot you know, I have pets. The pets drink the tap water. My pets coulda gotten really, really sick. That's thousands of dollars in vet bills. Like, it's very concerning. And then lastly, I was just notified by my HOA that the monthly rent here in Desert Passage
is going up by $22 a month. And, I found out that that's the highest, like which which means it's gonna be a $132 a month for my HOA bill, which I believe, I could be wrong, is the highest HOA bill in Maricopa. In finding out from all everyone doing their testimonies today, all the things that are causing those bills to be higher, why am I happy to pay for Global Water, you know, going places you're not supposed to go or trying to grow their business. Why am I helping to pay for the new houses being built down the street?
It doesn't make sense to me. And that's about all I really had to say because I didn't really have time to prep. But I wanna thank you all for letting me speak today. Thank you. Thank you so much for your comments today. Alright. Our next caller is Becky Clark, c l a r k. Okay. Hello? Good morning. Good morning. It's Becky Clark. I live in Maricopa, and I would like to oppose the, rate increase. Just saying about the, infrastructure that they put in on the Kenorin Parkway, the infrastructure they're planning to put in South Of Achtien for homes that aren't built
yet, and this is all based on the come. That's all being broken pipes, and everything else that they're doing, the 404 Wash, all the cleanup that is required for the HOA to pay for because they're discharging their excess water into the 404 Wash, which makes it grow with the weeds and everything, that has to be maintained, but they're not maintaining it. All of the E. Coli issues, my son happened to get very sick after the E. Coli issue,
and he lives in Sunita. And we didn't know about the E. Coli, and he was sick for about three days. And so finally, it came out what it was, and he thought it was a stomach flu situation. So these are the things that go on. I know that the ACC had a meeting quite a few years ago now with the last rate increase that Global Water put on. They had it in the evening. They had it around 06:30 in the evening in a junior high school auditorium, and the place was packed with over as many people as could get in.
It was incredible. And you would see that kind of involvement if you would bring it to the people and let us actually have a voice because we're all concerned. There are many, many issues with the water with their water treatment plants, with their, reclaimed water that goes into the, quote, lakes around and the scum and the things that seem to generate from that. The lack of signs on the areas where children are near or there's fishing going
on with reclaimed water, those signs need to be posted, and Global Water needs to put them up. They have one in their own building where they have a pond. They have a sign that says don't fish or drink the water, and yet they don't put that out for the entire community for safety reason. That's just wrong. There's so many things that they do. And when you say give Ron Fleming a call and talk to him, he doesn't. He won't speak to anyone. He won't attend a meeting.
We had a sit down meeting, and they had another guy come in instead of him. He won't talk to the people directly. He won't get involved with the people directly. He would rather just brush you off. So as far as the concern that we have in Maricopa for this rate increase, we just went through one. They're getting another one for infrastructure they put in based on the come of these
different developers building their homes that haven't happened, and now we're going to pay for that infrastructure they put in place. That's wrong. That should be on them and on their profit margin. They've got plenty of it. So that's all I wanna say. Thanks for letting me address. I appreciate your hard work. I know you guys, have have to look at everything, but please consider having a meeting in our city with 85 to 90,000 people now that can actually come in the evening,
and you'll be impressed with the turnout. I promise. Thank you again, and have a great day. Thank you, miss Clark. Our next caller is Celeste Kimball, k I m b a l l. Hi. Good morning. Good morning. Hear me? Yes. We can. Thank you. Perfect. Thanks for taking our call. My name is Celeste Kimble. It's actually k I m b l e. You know, the funny way of spelling it. I have lived in Maricopa for almost eight years now. I'm in Rancho, El Dorado. Obviously, I think I can speak for a lot of us here in Maricopa,
that we definitely oppose the rate increase. I think everything's been touched on, so I don't wanna waste any time or repeat myself. But, mostly, you know, we don't have an opportunity to use another water company, and we have to have water. Right? So between the $100 right off the bat, that does not include any kind of usage is is, you know, that's that's frustrating, especially since we don't have another option. So in addition to the already, in my opinion,
very high water bill, you know, the water quality is poor. We require a filtration system, a water softener, and an RO system. The smell is overwhelming, you know, and not to mention the E. Coli breakout. So I have two babies. You know? We're using the water. I'm bathing them. We're you know? I can only imagine the families who are mixing baby formula. I mean, you guys, this is a serious health risk. And I don't feel like not only was that not taken seriously, but no one was notified until it was already supposedly corrected,
which then we found out it wasn't. You know? So the the lack of transparency, the lack of communication, it's frustrating for us. Now I know there's a lot of misinformation out there, but I could be wrong. But I believe last year, you know, they're they're in the mid seventies of a profit margin. So I'd really like to know what the, justification is for this this increase when we have that high of a profit margin coming from from Global Water. So, again, a lack of transparency,
a lack of communication, where's the justifications for this? We don't have any other options, so, we'd like our voices to be taken very seriously here. And, I also support an independent third party audit. Just throwing that out there. So, anyway, that's that's all from us. Thank you so much. Thank you, miss Kimball. Our next caller is Kimberly Margiotta, m a r g I o t t a. Pronounced that, well enough. Yes. Thank you. Can you hear me? Yes. Please proceed. Perfect. Thank you.
Good morning, everybody. My name is Kimberly Margiotta. Thank you for allowing those of us who are unable to attend in person to join and comment by phone. I appreciate this opportunity to speak. My family and I are new residents and homeowners here in Maricopa. And within our first week of living here, an e coli notice was issued, which raised serious concerns about water quality and reliability. And as a parent of a young child, this was especially alarming because safe,
reliable water is not optional for families. It is essential. And I was already appalled by the cost of water and sewage service. It is the most expensive utility service I have ever experienced living in Arizona. And to now be faced with a proposed increase of another 20% is deeply concerning and especially as household costs continue to rise. Given the current cost, service quality concern, and the lack of consumer effectively a Arizona
corporate commission to exercise its full authority the Arizona corporate commission to exercise its full authority to protect residents through stricter oversight and forcible conditions or other available alternatives before approving any rate increase. For these reasons, I am opposed to the proposed water and sewage rate increase. And I urge you to reject the proposed rate increase and prioritize affordability, water quality, and accountability for residents. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Our next caller is Jesse Moody, m o o d y. Morning, your honor. Good morning, everyone, there. I, this is Jesse Moody, j e s s e m o o d y. I just I appreciate your time and, everyone's time to have this, public hearing. I also commend, those, Maricopa residents who are there in person and, on the phone as well. I'm calling in to state that I oppose the, 20% rate increase. I'm requesting transparency from Global Water,
meaning that, I believe the residents of Maricopa should be able to see a real itemization breakdown for all the fees applied to the bill. This has been mentioned, many times over, this morning. In addition, Global Water has made a profit year over year. I'm just trying to understand why that profit wasn't used to, cover capital investments for required infrastructure improvements. It just feels that, the residents are being asked to to foot the bill or, you know, issues, that maybe, they didn't, account for, in oversight. So it just it doesn't seem fair to the residents
to have to pay a rate increase, and they don't even know why, what the rate increase is for. Drinking water is a it's a basic necessity, and it feels like, we're just being asked into, rate increases without, you know, again, a rational explanation provided. And if this, rate increase passes, who who's to say that in two years down the road, we're not here again fighting for, against another rate increase. I just ask for, transparency. I would love to see, an itemization, a breakdown of where our money is going right now currently for the fees that
we're paying. And, I just, ask that you please take into consideration my concerns as well as everyone else's concerns there in person on the phone because as as mentioned before, everything is just going up and up, and it's just gotten to the point where people can't afford to live. And and when it's talking when it comes down to basic necessities like water, we really need a rational, reasonable explanation, and we really need to figure out the best way possible in going forward. Thank you for your time. Thank you,
mister Moody. Our next caller is Dennis Martinez, m a r t I n e z. Hi. Can you hear me? Yes. You can go ahead when you're ready. Thank you for your time. Thank you for taking your time to listen to what I have to say. I just the first thing I have to say is that I don't agree with the 20% increase, And I really do not appreciate the fact that we're just finding out with other people on Facebook, social media, and other residents that live in Maricopa. And I don't think it it's it's not and I don't think it's it's not
right just to give us a 20% increase of not letting anybody know and what the reason is. The right thing to do is to let everybody know what is going on with the company and what the purpose is. If there's an actual purpose to it, it's great. But the fact that we already have a high water bill, we already have everything else going on that is increasing. And not only that, the E. Coli that my kids drink out of, I have two kids. One's three, one's a year and a half. They bathe in it. They drink it.
They can't drink the water straight up, so they have to have some type of lemonade flavoring on there. And then, plus, we don't really have filtration so where that everything is just out there in the open. And you can smell it off of the water where we have to make it quick, and it'll cause health issues, cancer. We can smell the bleach. Whenever there is something going on, we're not known about it. Sometimes we our water comes out brown, and it stinks. And I I would really appreciate the fact that I appreciate the workers going out
there and trying to fix what it is what is going on, but it'll be nice to give us a heads up that my kids are not baking because it's happened multiple times that water comes out brown. And we don't use the water that much. We don't do laundry that much. We don't do the dishes very much. But the fact that we have to cut that down to in order to make our build affordable is not okay, especially with the 20% increase. And I would really appreciate the fact that a good company lets everybody know what is going on because the people who pays for it has the right to know
instead of being a darch. And my question is about how is it we're getting word out and the company is not doing anything? I don't feel like this company is for the people. It's just you're gonna be okay with it, and there's no worries about it. They're they're not it's it just feels like we have to beg for something that we don't have that we don't deserve. So that is my say, but I have to say thank you for your time. Thank you, mister Martinez. Our next caller is Adriana Carpio, c a r p I o. Yes. Hello. Good morning. I'm gonna keep my statement short just because,
I am using a break from work, but, I just wanted to, again, speak my opposition. Basic utilities should never be unaffordable. At a time when the cost of living continues to rise, we already stretched thin. I live in a two income household, and it we are struggling. I cannot imagine what fixed incomes for lower income families and seniors. I I can't even imagine what it must be for them. Approving water rates at this time when the rise of living is increasing, it really shows that it's they don't have residents in mind.
This is a poor poor profit utility. And I really feel that when families are forced to choose between paying for water and other basic necessities, something is wrong with this system. So rate structure should prioritize affordability and equity for residents, not for increased profits or for shareholders. I know that they've reported a profit, and yet I've been a resident since 2010, and we've always paid paid a rate a flat rate whether we use water or not. There's a flat rate. And at the beginning, we were told that it was to bring infrastructure up to date.
But here we are when the population has already grown. There's plenty of more customers. There's plenty of new development, and yet we are still playing paying a flat rate. So I just wanted to speak, speak my office position, and I really hope that you consider the price of living for fixed income residents. Thank you. Thank you, miss Garpeo. It looks like our next caller is Myra Juarez, j u a r e z. I believe we had a Myra Juarez call in earlier. Is this the same Myra Juarez who already provided comments? Alright.
Hearing none, we'll move on to Mike Millett, m I l l e t. I think I'm battling with whoever's trying to unmute me. I apologize. Yes. This is Mike Miller. Can you, can you hear me? Yes, mister Miller. You you won the battle. So, please proceed. Alright. That's fantastic. I I appreciate that. And thank you for for hearing me out. And and, you know, despite some some obvious confusion and frustrations, for still giving us a chance to speak, any anytime we can do that is is very appreciated, and the more opportunity, the better. So, and there's there's a lot of people that have already made really some great cases,
in my opinion, about the affordability. You know, they provide us statistics and specific numbers. I'm not coming to the table with any of that necessarily nor do I want to, you know, drill those to death too much because they stand strong on their own. But I did wanna provide some, some anecdotal observations about the kind of the, you know, uncomfortable perceptions of global water in Maricopa. Global water is really quite simply extremely overpriced, relative to just about any other water source, that I have awareness of.
And and and, thus, it makes no sense to, you know, increase it even further. And and in my mind, this speaks to either greed or mismanagement, neither of which we should be required as residents to pay for. I understand Global Water is, but, or it's well, it is the parent company, but it's a it's a, you know, for profit company. And that's that's all well and good, but but that really needs to be balanced against the the individual residents, the individual people and families that are living and trying to survive and and and get by and and thrive,
in Maricopa. And that really puts a damper on it at the expense of, or or rather at to the benefit of of Global Water and and their profits. So, so I'm I'm actually a realtor in Maricopa, and I generate my business, the vast majority of my business through teaching people about Maricopa and YouTube videos. So, you know, home tours, community tours, etcetera, etcetera. And that includes pros and cons videos. And it's striking to me that probably the two, okay. So there's probably two things that stand out in Maricopa,
that are are negatives. I love Maricopa. It's a great community. There's so many good things about it. But when we're talking about negatives, there's the three forty seven, you know, and traffic with Maricopa getting in and out, and there's Global Water. And it's just silly to me that, that a utility company the prices for utility company is is one one of the two main pain points, and that they're standing proud and asking for more money, on top of that. If there is a need for, investing in certain things, then there there's got to be better ways to to balance that,
especially since there are multiple, revenue streams for for this, overall company. It shouldn't come directly from Maricopa Residence. And that's kind of all I got. I appreciate you taking the time to to hear me out. Thank you, mister Millett. Okay. Alright. Those are all the callers that I see online at this time. Is there anyone else in the hearing room today who would like to provide a comment? I do see one hand up. I don't have time though, so I apologize. No no problem. Come on up to the podium. State and spell your name. Let us know what, what city or town you live in and then, let us know what you think.
Good morning, everyone. Morning, your honor. Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish brothers and sisters out there. I'm, my name is Carter Shively, c a r t e r s h I, v as in Victor, l e y. I've been a Maricopa resident, for five years now. Live in the lakes of Rancho Eldorado. I mean, I could, hit a golf ball and hit global water. I'd walk there to pay my bill. And, sorry. I'm a little parched right now. Out of water right now. I literally have to go to the local Sprouts, fill up five gallon jugs just to have drinking water for myself and my two daughters. You know, it's really frustrating paying a high rate like that. Can't even bathe them on every month.
I'm change I mean, I know this is I'm I'm opposing the rate hike. I'm just kinda giving examples of why Global Water is, you know, I'm trying to understand why you guys are not fixing current issues, when, there's so much to be done while increasing our rates because, you know, I do understand. I see that, the stock price has for Goldwater has plummeted, and it's really weird how the timing correlates with, this rate hike and their stock. You know, they're privately owned company, based out of Austin, Texas. I know online sometimes it says that they're, you know, in Arizona, but their headquarters are in Austin,
Texas. So they're not truly, in my opinion, an Arizona company even though they are servicing us. And, you know, I do appreciate having sewage and water, but it is monopolized. And, it's kind of, I just would like them to be more transparent with the community. You know, I speak on behalf of all my neighbors as well. I know they're all you know, another thing, that my neighbors have a big concern with is, obviously, the water quality. But because, being closer to the global water, we have higher chlorine levels for some reason rather than, a friend of mine that's south of town over by the casino.
Like, my dogs can't even drink the water. They've been getting sick ever since I you know, I've had times where there's no fresh water from the store that I've filled up the jugs with. And then, yeah, fed the dogs some water and wasn't wasn't good. They got bulletproof stomachs, and so that was really surprising, you know, that it's it's ridiculous. And, yeah. So I'm I'm just opposing the rate hike until they could be more transparent with us, tell us us what it's all about. And, as American worker resident, I would like them to kinda see us out. You know, it's a it's a lower income community, technically, compared to the rest of the valley.
I mean, we moved out there from Tempe due to having children, and the only place you could afford a house really in the valley was Maricopa at the time. And, you know, seeing that there was only one choice for water and sewage, kinda shocked me a little bit. I mean, I know most communities around the country that's the case, but it being private, you know, they need to be a little more transparent with us. And that's all I have to say today. Thank you. Appreciate it. Alright. Anyone else in the hearing room today who would like to provide a comment? Alright. Hearing none and seeing no additional callers online, that concludes the public comment portion of this proceeding.
Mister Metley, I do see your hand up. Would you like to say something? Yes, your honor. Give given some of the comment today, specifically, surrounding the I Cola issue, there seems to be a misunderstanding, some misinformation, some confusion, some safety concerns. Given all that, mister Fleming would like to just address, his customers. I know it's not common that we do that, but I think given the importance of this issue, I think it it it's justified. We have a lot of our customers out there listening right now who might have some concerns, may not understand what happened and what didn't happen.
And I believe that would be helpful, for him to just do that at this point. I I agree that I I think there is some utility there and I'm interested myself to hear the company's response, to, any of the issues that the companies are interested in responding to today. I know that we generally don't allow the parties to respond to the public comments during these proceedings. I think there's a risk there that it ends up turning into a mini hearing and perhaps staff of Ruko might want to ask some questions of the company. Although I would prefer to hear the company's response today personally,
I think it's probably better addressed in in testimony. And that way, it's in the record. I mean, the proceedings today are in the record, of course, but that way, it's it's evidence that can be considered for purposes of the, the recommended opinion in order. Given the given the importance and the fact that our customers are out there, we we certainly would be willing to offer mister Fleming for cross examination if necessary. But, you know, right now, our our customers are out there listening. They may not be reading testimony. They may not be attending our hearing. They raised concerns today.
I think this is an important issue. It's it's not gonna take a lot of your honor's time, but I I think it would be beneficial, to just hear from mister Fleming today. I I do understand the company's position. I I think it would be I think it would be better addressed in something filed in the docket for all to see, and I will provide instructions in just a moment for members of the public to follow the docket and to be able to provide additional written comments. Does that sound acceptable, mister Medley? It it does. Your your honor, thank you. I I I gave it a second shot.
I I apologize. I appreciate the effort. Alright. So as I said, I am going to provide a little bit of information for people listening or watching who didn't provide public comments or who need some additional information about how to follow this proceeding. Because we are vacating the the hearing this week and because we are going to schedule a hearing later on, hopefully sooner rather than later, I just want to remind everyone that there will be an additional opportunity for public comment at the beginning of the first day of the hearing. We haven't scheduled that day yet. We haven't scheduled those hearing dates yet,
so if you would like to stay updated as to when those are going to be, you're going to need to follow the docket and that can be accomplished by going to the following website: azcc.gov/hearing/ following a hyphen docket. I'll say that one more time. Azcc.gov forward /hearing forward slash following a docket. In addition, public comments can be submitted electronically
at any time by going to the Commission's website, azcc.gov, and under the meetings and cases tab, clicking on make a public comment in a docket. Again, that's just another opportunity for people to provide a comment without actually having to physically travel here and be here at a predetermined time and date. Thank you everyone for taking the time to share comments with the Commission today. As I said, our public comment proceeding today is concluded. And is there anything else that we need to address procedurally or otherwise before we
adjourn today, mister Metley? Nothing from the company, your honor. Thank you. Mister Pesesky? Nothing, your honor. Thank you. And miss Humphrey? Well, I'll let I'll let the public know that I just did a quick Google search on, follow ACC docket, and it popped the page right up. So if anybody didn't get your your detailed, web address, that's another way to get to it. As other than that, we have nothing to add. Thank you. Thank you, miss Humphrey. Thank you everyone for your participation today. I'll issue a procedural order shortly, vacating our our hearing this week,
and scheduling a procedural conference likely on January 12, so be on the look on for lookout for that. And with that, we are adjourned. We can go off the record. Thank you, sir.