By JONATHAN YORK
The Kyle City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to suspend Monarch Water’s 62 percent rate increase.
Council members did this after a public hearing in which more than 20 neighbors from the Amberwood and Indian Paintbrush subdivisions came up to speak. Some of them said the higher rates would price them out of their homes. “If you drive down through Amberwood you’ll see a lot of homes for sale,” one man said.
After hearing a few people say they were considering putting their homes up for sale, one woman said, “I find it appalling that I could lose my neighbors and friends because they cannot pay for something as basic as water.”
The room was full with many people standing. There was applause after every set of remarks, sometimes interrupting the speaker.
“We have lived in that home for four years, and we have never received an increase in customer service and water quality,” said Rebecca Cruz. “For six months I was paying for someobdy else’s meter, and all I got from the Monarch customer service was, ‘Sorry, ma’am, you have to pay it.’”
