To the Menlo Park City Council,
It has come to my attention that you are voting on new water rates on May 11, using a 3-tiered system such that water consumption exceeding certain amounts gets billed at a substantially higher rate.
I am writing to oppose the law as it is currently written, as it discriminates against multi-family dwellings (apartment complexes, condominiums) where a single meter measures the use of multiple households. This would affect me personally. I am a physician in the community and have rented here for 6 years, but such a measure would challenge the affordability of continuing to reside in this already expensive city.
I would also ask you to consider the potential social consequences of such a measure on "single family" homes. People with fewer economic resources often must live in more crowded conditions (i.e. many family members or sometimes many families under one roof). Such a tiered system would disproportionately affect poorer households.
Please consider a more equitable way of billing for water consumption.
Thank you,
Fiona Baumer
