Pendleton residents question if water/sewer rate increases were really warranted when city officials routinely provide millions of dollars for urban renewal grants to private businesses.

Projects such as this Main Street waterline replacement as well as others in the Urban Renewal District should be paid for using urban renewal funding since they are essentially urban renewal projects. Using standard public works budget funding for those projects depletes water/sewer maintenance reserves, forcing rate increases double of that promised when the inflationary rate plan was adopted.

When city officials rationalize these rate increases by claiming our new rates compare favorably to state wide averages, they invariably fail to mention that those averages include much larger cities where the costs of living are much higher than Pendleton.

Our city officials have a reputation for selling excess property for well under market value. Decisions such as selling the old Christian Science building for $10,000 when our county tax appraiser values the property at over $320,000 and then has the gall to raise water/sewer rates has residents questioning, why ?

Rick Rohde

Pendleton

Do you have a point you would like to make or an issue you feel strongly about? Submit a letter via email to editor@eastoregonian.com.