Water board discusses budget, members

The Hot Springs County Rural Water Joint Powers Board (HSCRWJPB) held a special meeting on June 1 at the Annex building to review their amended budget for the fiscal year 2022-2023 and their proposed budget for the fiscal year 2023-2024. See page 9 of this issue for a detailed presentation of the amended and proposed budgets.

The HSCRWJPB also reviewed their memberships and held a discussion of their amendment agreements with their attorney, Virgil Kinnaird. Although no action was taken by the board, Kinnaird presented to each board member who represent the various water districts an updated amendment agreement that would not change the by-laws but would reflect the exit of the Lucerne Water district and introduce the Town of Thermopolis onto the board. 

One request to the board was to determine the exact number of taps each water district serves so that they can assess the potential revenue coming into the HSCRWJPB. The Equivalent Dwelling Unit or EDU the board anticipates in calculating the residents’ water bills is about $8.50. This amount is estimated. This is a one-time assessment and it will not be reflected on utility bills and has been budgeted in the 2023-2024 budget.