For homeowners, the hits keep coming

To the editor:

I really didn’t mind if my water bill increased by $5, as the water board predicted, for the “average” homeowner. When I opened my water bill, I discovered I was not an “average” homeowner, but “above average,” because my infrastructure charge was $19.21.

I tried calling the water district all day Friday and was on hold for 45 minutes and longer without anyone taking my call.

As I waited for a customer service representative to answer my call, I compared my May bill to my April bill to see the difference and realized that out of the total charge for May, the amount for water used was $10.44 and the remaining $36.62 was for the service charge, the commodity charge, the infrastructure charge and the reliability surcharge. How many more “charges” can they add to the water bill?

My home is at the end of a main water line on East Washington Avenue and water must be pumped uphill from Hollywood Boulevard and Bonanza Road to get to our block. We have problems with water pressure, musty-smelling water from time to time, and ice cubes that look like milky squares.

I am still trying to get an answer from the water district as to why my increase is almost four times as much as they predicted. Maybe if Southern Nevada Water Authority General Manager Pat Mulroy reads this, she can answer my question. Or, if the county commissioners see this, they might wonder how many “average” homeowners will vote them out of office in the next election.

Between the water infrastructure charge and my electricity smart meter, I am starting to wonder how much more homeowners can endure.

Rosemarie Brobeck

Las Vegas

Totally predictable

To the editor:

In response to your Saturday story on North Las Vegas’ fiscal emergency:

So, North Las Vegas is officially broke.

We went through a small period where everything was great: money flowing, houses being bought, people employed, etc. During the peak, many financial observers indicated that it was a bad idea to buy a home because the bubble would burst. Alas, people still went and bought what they truthfully knew they couldn’t afford.

Now the city must slash worker raises and benefits or lay them off because officials allowed the unions to have extremely generous contracts that consume entirely too much of the now nonexistent tax money. It is a classic example of make more, spend more.

Remember, it is your elected city officials who approved all of this spending. I didn’t recall seeing anyone complaining when times were good. Yet when it goes sour, people want to cry like a screaming little child. Is anyone really surprised by this?

Matt Hulburt

North Las Vegas

Saving Onion

To the editor:

In response to your coverage of the dog that killed a local toddler:

I’m surprised that the Lexus Project rescuers from New York, who are trying to save Onion from euthanization, haven’t used the argument that opponents of capital punishment use. The anti-execution types always argue that it is cheaper to keep murderers in prison.

But it’s only cheaper because they are constantly suing the government over, and over, and over again to prevent the executions from taking place. It’s the same with Onion now. The Lexus people keep suing to have Onion sent to rescue habitat in Colorado.

If Onion doesn’t know that crushing the skull of a 1-year-old boy and severing his spine was a terrible thing to do, let them explain it to him in his next life. Instead of placing Onion in a sanctuary in Colorado, why don’t the Lexus people open their doors to Onion? Having a 120-pound murderous dog roaming their homes would be a pleasure they shouldn’t miss.

Richard J. Mundy

Las Vegas