OLYMPIA — Marysville wants to save city taxpayers a bunch of money by not letting them vote on a looming multi-million dollar deal with the Snohomish County PUD.
And the state may give the city permission to do so.
City officials said avoiding an election would save taxpayers more tha
n $100,000 in these hardscrabble times.
Right now, Marysville and the PUD are working on a complicated agreement to transfer water service for roughly 4,000 residents from the utility district to the city. Those folks living north of Soper Hill were annexed in Marysville in 2005 and will pay less for water once the switchover occurs, city officials said.
State law requires whatever deal is reached to be approved by voters in the entire utility district which covers all of Snohomish County plus Camano Island.
Conducting an election will cost Marysville at least $130,000, which is what the PUD paid to run its commissioner’s race in 2010. If a special election is needed with only the agreement on the ballot, the cost could reach $800,000, according to Snohomish County election officials.
Aside from the cost is the risk of putting the fate of both the transfer and lower water rates for residents in the hands of tens of thousands of people living outside Marysville.
It’s why the city asked lawmakers to let them off the hook for the election.
“The concern we had is it affects such a small portion of the city and most of those in the PUD service area would be unaware of the details because it’s not affecting them,” said Gloria Hirashima, Marysville’s city administrator.
A House bill to get this done is wending its way toward the governor. It passed the House on an 87-10 vote and is now awaiting action by the Senate.
As Marysville leaders lobby hard for passage, PUD officials are focused on completing the agreement.
In 2003, the city and utility district agreed on transferring service for the area in the south end of the city known as Sunnyside. It sits generally south of 52nd Avenue, west of Highway 9 and east of Sunnyside Boulevard.
Annexation occurred in 2005. Since then, there have been negotiations on the price the city would pay for the pipes, pumps and other gear the district is using to provide water service to roughly 1,500 accounts.
The two sides, with the aid of a consultant, could settle on an amount by the end of 2011 or early next year. Then the transfer could occur and residents of that area could begin paying around $12.50 less per month, Hirashima said.
“We’re fulfilling an obligation we committed to several years ago and we’re cooperating with Marysville to effectuate this in the most efficient way possible,” said PUD General Manager Steve Klein.
The legislation, House Bill 1407, can be read at www.leg.wa.gov.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com
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