Ashland council adopts Alternative 3A for water rates after split vote

The Ashland City Council voted to adopt the Water Cost of Service Study using rate structure Alternative 3A at its May 20 business meeting. The motion passed on a 3–2 roll call vote: Councilors Dahle, Bloom and Hansen voted yes; Councilors DuQuenne and Kaplan voted no.

Staff introduced the item and provided background on the study’s primary choices: extending the peak season to May through October, reducing the rate for the first 500 cubic feet of water and increasing upper‑end tier differentials. Josiah Close of HDR Engineering Inc. presented the analysis and compared four alternatives, including a base case, an alternative that increases tier differentials with a lower initial tier cost (Alternative 1), a multi‑year transition (Alternative 2), and a proposal to raise Tier 1 to 500 cubic feet (Alternative 3) with 3A combining Alternative 3 and a larger tier differential.

Councilors discussed how to achieve the lowest rate increases for the city’s lowest two tiers of water users. Questions focused on timing of increases, impacts across customer classes, and the study’s projected five‑year financial results. After an initial motion to adopt Alternative 1 failed on a 2–3 vote (Kaplan and Hansen yes; DuQuenne, Dahle and Bloom no), Council moved and passed the motion to accept Alternative 3A.

The record indicates the motion was made by Councilor Dahle and seconded by Councilor Bloom. The council did not adopt additional amendments to the study at the meeting. No specific ordinance or effective date for new rates was included in the motion recorded in the minutes; further implementing steps were implied to follow the study’s acceptance.