Basin board lowers water rates, reverses past charges

The Basin Water and Sewer District board is currently in the process of crediting back Basin residents for a $12 monthly rate increase that the previous board implemented in February. The current board determined that the previous board improperly raised water rates without the passage of a resolution, and it will no longer charge users the additional $12.

Current Board President Jason Norman said that the board is reviewing each individual customer’s bill and crediting each account for the $12 increase. He said that the current board did not have to pass a rate-change resolution or notify the community because the rate change it was undoing was itself enacted improperly by the previous board. He said the current board administratively rolled back rates and is crediting customers, and was advised on the move by its legal counsel. Attorney Nathan Bilyeu, from the Helena-based firm Jackson, Murdo & Grant PC, said that the firm has been consulting the new board and formerly advised the previous board.

According to current board member DeDe Rhodes, in April 2020, the past board passed a resolution—which requires a properly noticed pubic meeting process—to charge every lot in the district a $12 monthly fee, regardless of whether they had active water service.