I know that when you open a bill and you see that number climb, it doesn’t feel abstract. It feels personal. It feels like one more thing on a long list of things that cost more than they used to. And for families living on a fixed income, for young parents trying to make it all work, for small business owners doing everything they can to keep their doors open—those increases can be a real burden. So, I want to do something simple—but too often, in local government, not done clearly enough. I want to tell you the truth about why these rates went up, what those dollars are for, and what we’re doing to make sure we earn your trust every step of the way.
Because in Gilbert, we don’t just pay bills. We build a community. And communities are held together by something more than pipes and pumps. They’re held together by honesty, by responsibility—and by the belief that if we do the hard work now, we protect our kids from far bigger costs later. Below are fourteen truths.
Much of Gilbert’s underground water and sewer infrastructure was built using what were, at the time, the highest-rated pipe materials approved by the EPA and industry standards. These pipes were expected to last many decades longer than they have.
But the reality we are facing today is this: those pipes are deteriorating far earlier than engineers predicted.
They are cracking, failing, and leaking decades before their projected lifespan—not because they were ignored, but because the materials themselves did not perform as promised under real-world conditions.
And it’s important to say this plainly:
There is no manufacturer to sue.
There is no warranty to enforce.
There is no lawsuit that will pay to replace these pipes.
The standards were followed. The ratings were met. The materials were approved. And yet, here we are.
Delaying repairs doesn’t freeze prices in time. It makes the problem more expensive, more disruptive, and more painful for everyone.
For more than a decade, water and utility rates in Gilbert remained largely unchanged. That brought real, short-term relief to households. But it also meant that we were not setting aside enough revenue each year to fully fund long-term maintenance, replacement, and upgrades.
Infrastructure doesn’t stop aging just because rates stay flat. So when pipes begin to fail early, when treatment facilities require major reconstruction, and when operating costs rise year after year, there is no reserve large enough to absorb decades of deferred reinvestment all at once.
That is why we do not have the money today to pay for these repairs without adjusting rates. The costs didn’t disappear—they accumulated.
In 2013, Gilbert’s Council was formally warned by staff and experts that if infrastructure investment did not keep pace, the Town would eventually face exactly the situation we are in today: aging systems, rising repair costs, and the need for significant rate adjustments.
That warning matters—not to assign blame, but to understand reality.
I was not a Councilmember at the time, but I can tell you, those Councilmembers were not reckless. They did the best they could with the responsibilities, information, and community expectations they faced at the time.
Local government is often asked to do two conflicting things at once: keep rates low today and invest for tomorrow. When those priorities collide, the consequences don’t show up immediately. They show up years later,and that’s where we are now.
Gilbert’s North Water Treatment Plant was constructed in the mid-1990s under state and federal procurement laws requiring public projects to be awarded to the lowest qualified bidder.
Those laws were followed. They were designed to protect taxpayers, but communities across the country are learning the same lesson: the lowest upfront cost does not always result in the lowest lifetime cost.
Today, that plant provides—or soon will provide—the majority of Gilbert’s drinking water. This is not a system we can gamble with.
We live in the desert, and while Gilbert has planned responsibly, broader conditions across the Colorado River Basin affect everyone.
Scarcer water costs more to acquire.
More complex water costs more to treat, and;
Higher energy and chemical costs make treatment more expensive year after year.
Water is also coming to us dirtier than ever, costing us more money to transforming it to drinkable water for you and your family.
Planning for these realities now is far less costly—and far more responsible—than reacting later in a crisis.
That is why Gilbert accelerated seven groundwater well projects, moving them forward by nearly five years.
By drilling these wells sooner, the Town will be better positioned to respond to federally mandated reductions in Colorado River water deliveries beginning next year and continuing in the years ahead.
These investments allow Gilbert to responsibly access groundwater supplies that have been carefully conserved over time. In short, we are choosing to be proactive rather than reactive, ensuring long-term water reliability for our community.
There has been concern that charging higher rates to the 12% of heavy water users is a punishment. It is not. The reality is this: roughly 88% of Gilbert residents use a relatively modest amount of water, while a small percentage of households use four to five times more.
If everyone pays the same price per gallon, conservation is penalized and excess is subsidized. Tiered rates correct that imbalance.
They ensure that those who place the greatest demand on the system—and drive the highest costs for capacity, treatment, and delivery—pay proportionally more, protecting the other 88% of residents from higher across-the-board increases.
This is not about punishment. It is about fairness.
It is about responsibility to the majority of residents who already use water wisely. Some may feel that it is “unfair” that today’s residents are paying disproportionately for infrastructure that will be used for the future.
I can respect that perspective, but here’s an important perspective we don’t hear often enough.
Residents who have lived in Gilbert for 30, 40, even 50 years are not standing up and saying they were unfairly treated because they paid for roads decades ago that today’s residents now drive on.
They understood something fundamental:
That infrastructure is built over time.
That each generation contributes.
And that the benefits of a growing community are shared forward.
To be absolutely clear: in my opinion, the heavy users does not include Heritage Properties, which are being addressed next.
Gilbert was built on agriculture—on families who worked the land, raised livestock, kept horses, and cared for animals as part of daily life.
Those “Heritage Properties” are not an afterthought. They are part of who we are.
That is why some of Council are actively working to protect agricultural and Heritage Properties by exploring the creation of a separate utility tier specifically for properties with legitimate agricultural, livestock, equestrian, and animal-care water needs.
This is not symbolic. It is policy work underway.
The goal is to recognize that these properties are fundamentally different from high-consumption residential uses who are using tens of thousands of water more than others and should not be treated the same.
We can modernize our system without erasing our history. We can plan responsibly without abandoning the people who steward the land.
I also want to address something that has made this moment harder than it needs to be.
In recent months, misinformation, half-truths, and selective facts circulating on social media have added confusion, frustration, and fear—often without the full context or the full picture.
Some claims suggest there is hidden money sitting somewhere that can simply be reallocated. Others imply today’s residents are being punished for growth or development.
That same principle applies here.
Each generation helps maintain and improve the systems that everyone relies on—not because it’s unfair, but because that’s how communities endure.
Still others reduce decades of infrastructure decisions into a single headline, meme, or talking point.
That kind of distortion doesn’t help families understand what’s really happening. It doesn’t lower anyone’s bill, and it doesn’t fix a single pipe.
Healthy debate is essential. Tough questions are not only welcome—they are necessary.
But there is a difference between challenging decisions in good faith and spreading narratives that omit critical facts.
When misinformation spreads, trust erodes.
When trust erodes, communities fracture.
And when communities fracture, the hardest decisions become even harder. We owe each other better than that.
We owe each other facts, context, and honesty—even when the truth is uncomfortable or complex. Because water infrastructure is not simple. And pretending it is doesn’t make it so.
In Gilbert, developers pay the highest system development fees in the Valley for water and sewer infrastructure.
Those fees ensure that new growth pays for the capacity it requires, rather than shifting those costs onto existing residents.
For example, if the average utility bill is $200 per month, developers pay approximately $21,000 per new home into Gilbert’s water and sewer funds before anyone ever moves in.
That upfront contribution is roughly equivalent to eight and a half years of utility payments made in advance to support and pay for infrastructure.
Developers also pay system development fees for apartment units as well, ensuring that new residential growth contributes to the cost of the water and sewer systems it relies on.
Reality is growth is not getting a free ride.
Apartment residents, on average, use the lowest amount of water per household. More importantly, apartments are not located where we have failing pipes.
As the Colorado River allotment decreases, Gilbert may need a higher population to get more share of the water. In some ways, we need population to keep our water allotment supply up and costs down.
Blaming apartments is a red herring in this situation. The average apartment resident’s use of water can be four times less than the average residential household.
Rather than a sudden spike of instant raise in rates, Gilbert adopted a multi-year, phased rate adjustment for water—spreading costs over time to reduce immediate strain on households. It is not painless, but it is transparent.
And it is far better than waiting until emergency failures force drastic, sudden increases.
Water, sewer, and solid waste operate as Enterprise Funds. We cannot make a profit from our water funds. We charge residents exactly what it costs us to provide those services to them.
The Enterprise Fund must also be financially self-sustaining. We cannot simply cancel a $50 million dollar project in Parks or Roads and divert that money to our water funds without serious financial implications.
Failing to fund these systems responsibly and separately, threatens Gilbert’s AAA bond rating, which directly affects interest rates and long-term affordability.
That kind of credit downgrade is a municipal equivalent of watching your personal credit score drop from an 800 score to a 500.
Every future loan becomes more expensive, and everyone pays the price, which in turn can be equivalent to potentially tens of millions to a hundred million dollars in extra interest on a future bond.
The Thirteeth Truth: We Have Responsibility To Our Residents
In my opinion, Gilbert’s rollout of the new software system could have been handled better. At the time, however, we were operating under significant pressure because our existing system was no longer supported and posed growing operational risks.
While the transition was necessary, I acknowledge that the rollout created frustration and confusion for many residents.
We have taken those lessons seriously and are applying them to future system upgrades to ensure clearer communication, stronger testing, and smoother implementation.
There has also been concern that Gilbert may be experiencing widespread issues with water meters or their communication with the new software system.
In response to public concerns, the Town is committing nearly $500,000 to conduct a comprehensive, independent audit of our meters, billing, and system integrations to verify accuracy and restore confidence.
After the audit, we will make any adjustments which the audit indicates.
The Fourteenth Truth Our Reality Today
I understand that residents may interpret this information differently. Some may see transparency; while others may believe it’s just excuses.
I can’t make that interpretation for you, however my intent is straightforward—to share the facts about how we arrived here and the steps required to move forward.
This is not about politics.
It is about reliability.
It is about public health.
It is about doing the responsible thing—now—so the next generation isn’t forced into crisis later.
And we can do all of this while honoring our heritage, protecting responsible water users, demanding fairness from growth, and insisting on honesty in our public conversations.
If we keep open communication with one another—by choosing facts over fear, responsibility over delay, and unity over division—then Gilbert will come through this moment stronger, more resilient, and better prepared for the future.
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