17607_PMAA_Authority_June_2024

10 The Authority | June 2024 M unicipal A uthority of W estmoreland C ounty R ate A djustment S tory M ap By Matthew Junker, Public Relations Specialist, Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County The days of water and wastewater utilities operating as a ‘silent service’ are over. That was demonstrated to the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) when it raised rates in 2016. The rate increase was over three years and when compounded, it worked out to 45 percent. While our water rates were still similar to other utilities nearby, this percentage was taken as a rude shock by our customers. And, with the advent of social media, all utility customers now have several avenues to gather and discuss issues such as rate increases. If enough of them are truly angered, they can voice their displeasure with sufficient repetition and volume that what would have blown over in a month or two can now linger and taint your relations with your customers. In 2016, MAWC’s customers began a change.org petition to undo the rate increase, and reached out to political officeholders at the local and state level to voice their anger and concerns. While I was brand new to MAWC in 2016, I worked to reactively (after the fact) communicate the improvements that the increase would finance on our Leaks and Projects Map. The map has had several iterations. But when we planned our latest increase that took effect in April 2024, it was important to do a better job explaining why we were raising rates, and what the additional money would buy – right from when we announced the rate increase. Public Relations has some great practitioners who are fonts of wisdom, and they can guide you towards a solution, if you listen and are thoughtful with how you implement their advice. I have had the privilege of volunteering with the American Water Works Association’s Public Affairs Council (PAC), where I served with a who’s who in water communicators. One of them, Trina McGuire-Collier, formerly of Denver Water and HDR, recently retired from the PAC. She said once that “what you don’t do with your customers, you do to them.” Of course, that came to mind when I was informed that we may be raising rates. After thinking through the possibilities, here’s how we set out to better inform the customers – with a GIS story map. You can view the story map at https://bit.ly/3TADmiC An ARCGIS story map can sometimes start with text and photos, before moving into the map portion. That was the case here. We titled the map MAWC: Future Vision and Past Projects; Bringing Yesterday’s Accomplishments with Tomorrow’s Blueprint. We started with what a typical potable water customer pays today, and how much the 2024 increase would mean in dollars to our average customer who uses 3,000 gallons a month. The answer was $3.56 a month. We also explained that by limiting usage to 1,000 gallons, a customer would pay as little as $22.79 a month. In my experience, it’s important to show how you arrived at your various business decisions that lead to your rate structure – in other words, if you can show that you consulted others, this third party validation can show that it’s not just your customers facing this issue or price structure, but others. On our case, we utilized the 2023 AWWA rate study, and used that to justify a start towards an inclining rate block, where those who use more water are charged more. We historically have utilized a declining rate block. The study surveyed 450 water utilities nationwide, and was a useful comparison for MAWC when discussing rates. While MAWC has about 123,000 potable water customers, it has over 30,000 wastewater customers. Most of the wastewater customers are also water customers. Because wastewater rates are typically influenced heavily by capital improvements, we have multiple rates for the multiple systems we have purchased since the first one in 2001. Accordingly, the wastewater rate changes section is longer, to explain what changed. We also utilized a “what do rates pay for” explainer that former AWWA President Melissa Elliott of Raftelis, formerly of Denver Water, helped me to write a few years ago. That sets the stage for the first map.