April 15, 2025

VIA EMAIL AND FIRST-CLASS MAIL
Marco Tule, President
Board of Directors
Inland Empire Utilities Agency
6075 Kimball Avenue
Chino, CA 91708

Re: Inland Empire Utilities Agency’s (IEUA) Proposed Rates and Fees for FY 2025/26 and 2026/27

Dear President Tule and Members of the IEUA Board of Directors,

On behalf of the cities of Chino, Montclair, and Ontario, and the Monte Vista Water District, we write to express our shared and growing concerns regarding IEUA’s proposed rate increases and the lack of transparency surrounding the Chino Basin Program (CBP).

As member agencies that have long participated in good faith within IEUA’s collaborative governance structure—including the Technical Advisory and Policy Committees—we are disheartened by the IEUA’s continued disregard for regional input. The current proposal to adopt significant rate increases, coupled with opaque funding decisions for the CBP, undermines public trust and jeopardizes local water security. Just as problematic is that our shared customers are apt to view our own respective actions and rate plans with a cynical and untrusting eye that rightly should be trained on IEUA; however, IEUA does not have any meaningful contact with the ratepayers.

At the April 3 Policy Committee meeting, our representatives unanimously withheld support for IEUA’s proposed rate increases due to the lack of timely information. Rate justification materials were provided just 42 hours prior to the meeting, denying committee members adequate opportunity to review and assess the impact of the proposal. This follows an earlier March 27 Technical Advisory Committee meeting, where the rate proposal similarly failed to garner support.

IEUA has proposed a wastewater rate increases of 18 percent over FY 2025–26 and 2026–27, in addition to an 18 percent increase for recycled water. These come on the heels of a 13 percent EDU increase over the past two years. Despite our agencies’ collective concerns and opposition, IEUA is poised to adopt these increases at its April 16 Board meeting.

The reason behind this substantial rate hike appears closely tied to the CBP. This project, which includes ongoing high operational costs, allows for up to 100 percent of this currently underutilized recycled water to be exported to the state, rather than retained for local use. These actions and associated costs do not go unnoticed by your member agencies, despite IEUA’s attempts at obscuring these facts with jargon.

We remain deeply concerned that IEUA is leveraging local taxpayer funds to develop a project that transfers water away from the very communities whose property taxes and utility fees are being used to fund it. This is especially troubling in light of the Chino Basin’s declining safe yield and the increasing strain on local water resources due to climate change and regional growth.

To date, IEUA has dedicated over $15 million in local funds toward the CBP and is preparing to allocate nearly $48 million more for planning and design over the next two years. While IEUA asserts that current rate increases are not directly tied to CBP construction, the project is being funded through property tax transfers from the Water Resources Fund and reserves from the Wastewater Capital Fund—resources that could otherwise be used to offset rate increases for our communities.

Additionally, IEUA has failed to provide detailed information regarding the specific debt service these tax dollars support, projected staffing costs, or salary impacts associated with the CBP. These omissions only reinforce the perception that key decisions are being made without full transparency or public accountability.

On March 28, the cities of Chino, Montclair, and Ontario, along with Monte Vista Water District, sent a joint letter to IEUA requesting clarity on the cost and rate impacts of the CBP. To date, we have not received a formal response.

Given the above, we respectfully but firmly request that IEUA:

• Postpone the April 16 vote on the proposed rate increases to allow time for proper review and public engagement.
• Provide full transparency regarding all current and future funding sources for the Chino Basin Program.
• Clearly disclose how local tax revenues and ratepayer funds are being used to support CBP planning, staffing, and operations.
• Reaffirm IEUA’s commitment to regional collaboration by respecting the advisory role of the Technical Advisory and Policy Committees.

In short, if the CBP is such an important and beneficial project for the region then the IEUA Board should be willing to, at long last, discuss it openly and directly with the folks who are going to pay for the large majority of it. The Inland Empire’s communities deserve a clear, consistent, and transparent approach to water policy—one that prioritizes local investment in drought-proof, recycled water infrastructure that stays within the region. The current path undermines those goals.

Member agencies respectfully request that IEUA engage in meaningful and collaborative dialogue with member agencies to support education and build consensus around the need for the CBP. While we all agree on the importance of local control over our water resources, the CBP still raises more questions than answers without clear local benefit. We look forward to your timely response and a renewed commitment to collaboration and accountability.

Sincerely,

Curtis Burton, Mayor Pro Tem
City of Chino

Javier “John” Dutrey, Mayor
City of Montclair

Debra Porada, Council Member
City of Ontario

Sandra Rose, President Monte Vista Water District