Mesa approves 20% commercial water rate hike to offset residential relief

Mesa approves 20% commercial water rate hike to offset residential reliefThe City Council voted to shift the utility's revenue burden toward businesses after residents pushed back against proposed rate increases during earlier negotiations.

Non-residential water rates will increase by an average of 20%, or approximately $9.24 per month.

The hike was designed to offset revenue lost when the council scaled back proposed residential rate increases.

Councilmember Jennifer Duff voted against the ordinance, arguing the cost shift penalizes businesses.

City leadership defended the move as a necessary step to achieve cost parity between customer classes.

The Mesa City Council has approved a significant increase in non-residential water rates, shifting the utility's revenue recovery burden toward businesses to spare residential customers from steeper hikes. During the February 9 meeting, the council voted to adopt Ordinance No. 6002, which establishes new schedules for non-residential water utility services. The decision follows earlier utility rate discussions where resident pushback led officials to scale back proposed increases for households. Councilmember Jennifer Duff, who voted against the measure, stated that the council had previously negotiated down residential rates, effectively pushing the uncollected revenue requirement onto the commercial sector. "We decided we didn't want to do that... so we pushed all that onto our businesses," Duff said. She noted that non-residential customers will now face an average 20% increase, equating to roughly $9.24 per month. "I don't agree with pushing this kind of rate increase on our businesses... in order to be business-friendly in Mesa." Duff indicated that the adjustment resulted in a reduction of the average monthly charge for residents, though there was a brief debate on the floor regarding whether the residential savings amounted to $0.77 or $1.07 per month. Currently, residential water bills in the city average approximately $45.13 for typical usage, contributing to a total utility burden that sits roughly 10% below the average for Arizona municipalities. Supporters of the ordinance argued that the shift was necessary to correct historical imbalances in the rate structure. The Mayor noted that the adjustment was intended to create "parity" because businesses have traditionally paid significantly less than residents relative to their burden on the system. "That was the direction that the majority of the council felt like they wanted to accelerate the time frame to get to parity," the Mayor said. The Vice Mayor defended the impact on the local economy, pointing out that the majority of Mesa’s small businesses consume less than 6,000 gallons of water per month, suggesting the hike would not be prohibitive for smaller enterprises. Despite Duff’s opposition, the motion to approve the new rate schedule passed.