Dublin residents will see a change on their water and sewer bills beginning in July. Instead of paying sewer fees bi-monthly along with water consumption charges, effective July 1 Dublin home owners (single-family homes, condominiums, and townhouses) will pay for wastewater services twice a year when we pay our property taxes.

Based on this change, our next bi-monthly bill will include a prorated wastewater charge for June; subsequent bills will include no wastewater charges. Instead an annual charge will appear on residential property tax bills distributed in October 2008 by Alameda County.

Even though the sewer charges will now appear on our property tax statements, it appears that they are not tax-deductible on our personal 1040 income tax returns. Please click here for related info on the IRS’s website. Additionally, please check with your accountant for more details.

Background
The Dublin San Ramon Services District (DSRSD) is making this change to collect a higher percentage of residential wastewater fees while lowering its collection costs. The change will also standardize wastewater billing processes for DSRSD. Residential customers in San Ramon already pay for sewer service along with their property taxes.

When special districts such as DSRSD collect fees through property tax rolls, they receive 100% of the amounts billed to property owners, regardless of the actual amounts collected. The counties charge the districts a per-property fee and assume both the risk of nonpayment and the rewards of penalties and interest. “Fees for collecting and treating residential wastewater are largely determined by fixed costs that must be spread over all our customers,” says Lori Rose, DSRSD Treasurer. “Delinquent accounts unfairly penalize the customers who pay on time and can lead to higher rates for everyone. By making this simple change in our billing method, the District is insuring that our customers in good standing are not subsidizing those who don’t pay their fair share.”