2025 Citizen Water and Wastewater Rate Committee

City of Buckeye 2025 Citizen Water and Wastewater Rate Committee July 17, 2025 MINUTES City Hall East at The Landing White Tanks Conference Room 945 N. 215th Avenue Suite 137 Buckeye, AZ 85326 6 p.m. 1. Call to Order/Roll Call Chair Subjack called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Members Present: Chair Subjack, Vice Chair Whitehead, Member Holguin, Member James, Member Hammond, Member Morris Alternates Present: Member Gonzales, Member McMurray Absent: Member Moreno Staff Present: Water Resources Director Terry Lowe, Water Resources Deputy Director Eddie Solis, Water Resources Management Assistant Jaymie Parker, City Attorney Scott McCoy, Administrative Assistant II Lianna Lewis, Administrative Assistant I Macey Haddorff, Neighborhood Services Coordinator Janene VanLeeuwen, Deputy City Manager Javier Setovich, Deputy City Manager Doug Sandstrom, Management Assistant Rosie Araujo 2. Welcome and Introductions Water Resources Director Terry Lowe welcomed the Water and Wastewater Rate Committee members. Each Committee member and City employee introduced themselves. 3. New Business 3.A Presentation and discussion by the City Attorney regarding the Committee bylaws, Arizona's Open Meeting Laws and Public Record Laws. Staff Liaison: Scott McCoy, City Attorney City Attorney Scott McCoy delivered a presentation explaining the Committee by-laws; including but not limited to the Committee attendance requirement, committee sunset terms, status of alternates, meaning of a quorum, and the requirement to have quorum to hold a meeting; open meeting law requirements; adhering to the published agenda; record retention requirements; and tools to prevent the occurrence of violations. 3.B Presentation and discussion by the Water Resources Department (WRD) staff regarding the Water/Wastewater Rate Committee's (WRC) purpose & goals, public outreach, and WRD structure and functions. Staff Liaison: Terry Lowe, Water Resources Director Water Resources Director Terry Lowe gave a detailed presentation on the purpose and goals of the WRC as well as an overview of the Water Resources Department. The WRC’s goals are to assist  staff with choosing a rate structure with reasonable increases; and determining suitable public meeting structures, times and locations. Mr. Lowe also explained the need for new water and wastewater rates, citing recent news articles analyzing the nation’s increasing rates due to inflation and aging infrastructure as well as the recent increases in other valley cities. Mr. Lowe then provided an overview of the Water Resources Department’s business philosophy, functional structure, service area, and Business Units and Divisions. The presentation closed with next steps for the July 31st meeting, a deep dive into the Water Utility, its operations and expenses. Alternate Member Anastazia McMurray inquired why the previous rate increases were reduced, cancelled, or denied. Management Assistant Jaymie Parker will follow up with an answer. 4. Comments from the Public – None. 5. Adjournment There being no further business to discuss, Chair Subjack adjourned the meeting at 7:37 p.m. James P. Subjack, Committee Chair ATTEST: I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the 2025 Citizens Water and Wastewater Rate Committee meeting held July 17, 2025. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. Jaymie A. Parker, Committee Secretary