by Cosima Colvin
Good evening members of the Rate Advisory Committee and thank you for your service to the citizens of San Antonio.
I am the owner of a seven- unit MF property, and I live in one of the units. I have owned the property since April 2006.
For the period 7/10-8/8/2006, the Meter Water Use was 26,184. The bill for that period was $164.48
For the period 9/5-10/4/19, the Meter Water Use for the same period was 25,435. The bill was $334.20. That’s a cost increase of over 100% with about 700 less gallons used.
My property supports seven households with a total of 13 occupants. My rental income has increased 39% over 14 years and most of the increase has been as a result of tenant turnover.
Four of my current tenant households have been with me for over four years and the tenant in one unit has lived in the building since 2005. I value my tenants and because I live at the property, it is important to me that we all have a good relationship. All of my tenants are good, hard working people, but almost all are living paycheck to paycheck. Between the increases in property taxes and the water, I am faced with having to raise their rents by 10% and I’m afraid that not all of them will be able to absorb that. The problem is, they will not find more affordable housing. And because they aren’t SAWS customers and therefore don’t qualify for subsidies and don’t have a voice in this process, I am here for them as well as for me.
I feel like I am being penalized for providing affordable multi-family housing at a time when there is a housing crisis in our city and our country. Several mayors have put together committees and task forces to find solutions. What about giving small multi-family landlords that are providing good, affordable missing middle housing in neighborhoods credit for the role they are playing and setting rates that reflect their contribution.
Lastly, I looked into getting a leak detector for my property, but found out that as a commercial customer I do not qualify for the rebate, so once again I am at a disadvantage.
I urge you to consider the damage that increased rates are doing to the ability for the residents of this city to stay in their housing, whether as homeowners or renters. Once the damage has been done, it will be a long road to recovery.
Cosima sits on the Tier One Neighborhood Coalition and is a Co-Chair of Beacon Hill Area Neighborhood Association’s (BHANA) Zoning and Urban Design (ZUD) Committee. This statement is a modified version of the original which is available on the Rate Advisory website