One of the more confusing local questions for many voters in the Santa Cruz Mountains on the Nov. 5 ballot is Measure U, which affects residents in the area served by the San Lorenzo Valley Water District.

While in most measures voters are having to grapple with concerns about taxes and promoting environmental and land use projects, this one essentially begins with a negative, namely repealing a district pricing policy.

SLV Water has raised fixed monthly water charges too high, say proponents, so Measure U if approved will repeal these charges, removing a “capital facilities charge” that started to appear on customers’ bills in March, costing $7.65 per month for most single-family homes and helping fund repairs on water tanks and mains among other improvements. Under U, fixed rate charges could only increase by no more than 2% per year until Jan. 1, 2049.

The district also instituted a larger service charge to fund maintenance and operations that would not be repealed by Measure U. In addition, the average SLV water users’ per-unit rate decreased by about 7%.

The measure was crafted and backed by, among others, district water board member Bob Fultz and by water board candidate Bruce Holloway (who recently sued Santa Cruz County that essentially resulted in the county agreeing that revenue from a March voter-approved county sales tax increase only be spent in the unincorporated area of the county).

Their argument is that the fixed rate increases have nearly doubled since 2021 and that the monthly charge is regressive, in that it punishes lower-income customers and creates a rate structure where lower water users will subsidize higher water users. The purpose, they say, of U is to tilt the balance back to monthly bills being based more on actual water usage and less about a fixed charge that is billed before a customer uses a drop of water. If allowed to stand, the new rates, they say, will result in 65% of an average bill consisting of fixed charges. If the district needs more money for repairs, they say, then per-unit charges could be raised.

Opponents to U (the district board approved the new charges by a 4-1 vote with Fultz dissenting) say if U passes, the district won’t have enough money for repairs, as it faces a $50 million price tag for replacing infrastructure damaged by the CZU fires. In addition, if U passes and fixed rate increases are limited to 2% per year, unintended consequences would result as the district would have to drastically increase water-use rates.

Our Editorial Board expressed sympathy for water users (the district has approximately 8,000 connections, with about 7,000 of these single-family residences) facing higher monthly fixed charges — yet another increase in expenses for residents in a county where the cost of living just keeps rising.

But, we also felt that water users such as the San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District will see costs rise dramatically should U pass. In addition, the district needs a reliable source of funding for needed repairs.

For those reasons, we recommend a No vote on Measure U. At the same time, we urge the water board to look at revising the rate schedule so that customers who use less water are not penalized.

In neighboring Scotts Valley, voters will have a more traditional ballot measure to deal with: raising a tax.

Measure X proposed to increase the business license tax in the city. Businesses already pay a license fee to operate in the city and the funds raised help pay for city services. This fee hasn’t changed since 1992 and voters are being asked to raise the base rate from $90 to $150 per business, with rates increasing incrementally for larger businesses based on gross receipts. Proponents note that under the current accounting, many small businesses pay the same amount for their license as much larger companies do.

The measure, if passed, will help Scotts Valley’s fiscal situation by increasing business license revenue from $348,000 annually to $1.1 million.

The measure is backed by a cross section of city leaders and has no opposing ballot argument filed. We recommend a Yes vote on Measure X for Scotts Valley.