{"id":270520,"date":"2025-04-11T12:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T16:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/english-local-taxpayer-funding-diverted-to-state-focused-project\/"},"modified":"2025-04-11T13:00:01","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T17:00:01","slug":"fondos-de-los-contribuyentes-locales-desviados-al-proyecto-centrado-en-el-estado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/fondos-de-los-contribuyentes-locales-desviados-al-proyecto-centrado-en-el-estado\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Taxpayer Funding Diverted to State-Focused Project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><![CDATA[\n\/* Style Definitions *\/\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><span class=\"legendSpanClass\"><span class=\"xn-location\">ONTARIO, Calif.<\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"legendSpanClass\"><span class=\"xn-chron\">April 11, 2025<\/span><\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; The <span class=\"xn-location\">City of Ontario<\/span> urges Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) to practice transparency as the Agency advances its extensive <span class=\"xn-location\">Chino<\/span> Basin Program (CBP). IEUA, in concert with six cities and a local water utility,\u00a0established a technical\u00a0advisory and policy committee to advise the IEUA Board of Directors on projects such as these. IEUA, however, fails to respect this multi-jurisdictional approach by obscuring the funding process for the CBP.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our efforts to create water security for our residents are undermined by the\u00a0Chino Basin Program.\u00a0IEUA has failed to act with the clarity required of a public agency throughout this process and threatens our ability to invest in much-needed local water recycling infrastructure,&#8221; said Ontario City Councilmember Debra Porada.\u00a0&#8220;<span class=\"xn-location\">Ontario<\/span> has long supported a local alternative project to keep recycled water in the communities that need it the\u00a0most, in cooperation with every agency that agrees to participate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>On <span class=\"xn-chron\">March 5<\/span>, IEUA presented to its Board of Directors a series of sweeping rate increases. This follows the Agency adjusting its Equivalent Dwelling Unit (EDU) wastewater rate by 13% over the prior two years. IEUA proposed EDU rate increases of 18% over Fiscal Years 2025-26 and 2026-27, and another 18% for recycled water over the same period, among other increases. IEUA presented its proposed rate increases at the <span class=\"xn-chron\">March 27<\/span> Technical Advisory Committee,\u00a0where IEUA&#8217;s proposal was not supported by committee members. Subsequently, at the <span class=\"xn-chron\">April 3<\/span> Policy Committee meeting, the committee unanimously denied its support for the rate increases because the justification for the rate increases was received only 42 hours before the meeting, not giving the committee enough time to review. The committee includes representatives from the cities of <span class=\"xn-location\">Chino<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Chino Hills<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Fontana<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Montclair<\/span>, Ontario\u00a0and <span class=\"xn-location\">Upland<\/span>, in addition to Cucamonga Valley Water District. Despite this overwhelming lack of community support, IEUA is pressing forward rapidly with its plan to adopt its controversial rate increases on <span class=\"xn-chron\">April 16<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, IEUA&#8217;s plan for rate increase expands funding for the <span class=\"xn-location\">Chino<\/span> Basin Program (CBP). This capital project has grown from <span class=\"xn-money\">$600 million<\/span> to\u00a0more than <span class=\"xn-money\">$1 billion<\/span>, plus it will have significant ongoing operating costs, using advanced water purification to treat and store 15,000 acre-feet-per-year of recycled water in the <span class=\"xn-location\">Chino<\/span> Basin groundwater aquifer. The CBP promises up to 100% of the project&#8217;s yield to the state instead of local communities.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The CBP comes at a time when there is continuing decline in the <span class=\"xn-location\">Chino<\/span> Basin&#8217;s safe yield, the annual groundwater allocation that can be produced from the basin without causing detrimental results,&#8221;\u00a0Porada said.\u00a0&#8220;IEUA is using local property tax dollars to transfer water to the State at substantial risk to our community, businesses and residents.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>IEUA has failed to answer questions and provide vital criteria in a timely manner for setting fair rates, including explaining the specific debt service our taxpayer dollars support and clear hiring figures and salaries. IEUA set <span class=\"xn-chron\">April 16<\/span> as the day its Board will consider the rate increase, providing inadequate time for member agencies to review the new rate study, distributed only last week.<\/p>\n<p>While the CBP may not be funded by rates in the Fiscal Years 2025-26 and 2026-27, it does rely on a property tax transfer from the IEUA&#8217;s Water Resources Fund and property tax reserves from the Wastewater Capital Fund.\u00a0 These funds could otherwise be used to lower the planned 18% rate increases.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear if wastewater operations funds will support the project&#8217;s employees. It is clear, however, that taxpayer funds directly support the CBP over the next two years. IEUA has dedicated more than <span class=\"xn-money\">$15 million<\/span> in local funds toward the project. IEUA staff intend to recommend its Board of Directors allocate nearly <span class=\"xn-money\">$48 million<\/span> in local funding to complete planning and design work over the next two years. IEUA set an ambiguous goal to determine long-term funding and justification for the CBP in the next rate study.<\/p>\n<p>The population in <span class=\"xn-location\">San Bernardino County<\/span> continues to climb in a climate of changing water resources that, in some instances, has becomes less reliable. Still, IEUA has focused taxpayer funding on the CBP. This diminishes the recycled water available to <span class=\"xn-location\">Ontario<\/span> and surrounding communities. Recycled water is considered drought-proof and can be used for industrial, agricultural and groundwater recharge purposes. Critically, recycled water offsets expensive imported water use.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Cities of <span class=\"xn-location\">Chino<\/span>, <span class=\"xn-location\">Montclair<\/span> and <span class=\"xn-location\">Ontario<\/span>, and the Monte Vista Water District have expressed their concerns to IEUA in a letter sent on <span class=\"xn-chron\">March 28, 2025<\/span>. We have yet to receive a direct response. The letter reiterates the demand for IEUA to explain the cost and rate impacts of the CBP on Inland Empire residents.<\/p>\n<p>Learn more at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/c212.net\/c\/link\/?t=0&amp;l=en&amp;o=4403453-1&amp;h=580619955&amp;u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ontarioca.gov%2Fgovernment%2Fmunicipal-utilities-company&amp;a=www.ontarioca.gov%2Fgovernment%2Fmunicipal-utilities-company%C2%A0%5Bu7061146.ct.sendgrid.net%5D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">www.ontarioca.gov\/government\/municipal-utilities-company\u00a0[u7061146.ct.sendgrid.net]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>SOURCE  <span class=\"xn-location\">City of Ontario<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"xn-content\">\n<p><span class=\"legendSpanClass\"><span class=\"xn-location\">ONTARIO, Calif.<\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"legendSpanClass\"><span class=\"xn-chron\">April 11, 2025<\/span><\/span> \/PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE\/ &#8212; The <span class=\"xn-location\">City of Ontario<\/span> urges Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) to practice transparency as the Agency advances its extensive <span class=\"xn-location\">Chino<\/span> Basin Program (CBP). IEUA, in concert with six cities and a local water utility,\u00a0established a technical\u00a0advisory and policy committee to advise the IEUA Board of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-270520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interes-humano"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=270520"}],"version-history":[{"count":"1","href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":270521,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/270520\/revisions\/270521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=270520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=270520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hispanicprwire.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=270520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}