NYC WATER BOARD’S ONE-TIME CREDIT TO CLASS 1 PROPERTY OWNERS COUPLED WITH A 2.1% RATE INCREASE DID NOT HAVE A RATIONAL BASIS AND WAS PROPERLY ANNULLED AND VACATED.
The First Department, over an extensive dissent, determined the NYC Water Board’s issuance of a one-time credit of $183 to Class 1 property owners coupled with a 2.1% increase in NYC water rates was not supported by a rational basis. Class 1 property owners are owners of one, two and three family residences:
Although the Water Board claims that the credit would be more financially meaningful for class one property owners, the credit is not in any way tied to financial need. There is no rational basis for the conclusion that class one ratepayers have traditionally borne a disproportionate burden of water and sewage fees. While the Water Board argues that some members of class one rate payers experience financial hardship in paying for water, the application of the credit does not in any manner take into consideration an owner’s ability to pay or customers’ need for this benefit, solely relying on the classification of the property for tax purposes, which bears little relation to the stated objective. …
The Water Board’s justification for the increase as necessary to ensure funding for the costs of repairing or replacing existing portions of the City’s water and sewer system, while consistent with its mission statement and statutory mandate, is irreconcilable with the Water Board’s implementation of a credit if, the Water Board still needed funds to balance its books for the year. The action seems inconsistent with the Water Board’s statutory mandate to make the water system self sustaining. Matter of Prometheus Realty Corp. v New York City Water Bd., 2017 NY Slip Op 01263, 1st Dept 2-16-17
MUNICIPAL LAW (NYC) (NYC WATER BOARD’S ONE-TIME CREDIT TO CLASS 1 PROPERTY OWNERS COUPLED WITH A 2.1% RATE INCREASE DID NOT HAVE A RATIONAL BASIS AND WAS PROPERLY ANNULLED AND VACATED)/WATER BOARD (NYC) (NYC WATER BOARD’S ONE-TIME CREDIT TO CLASS 1 PROPERTY OWNERS COUPLED WITH A 2.1% RATE INCREASE DID NOT HAVE A RATIONAL BASIS AND WAS PROPERLY ANNULLED AND VACATED)/WATER RATES (NYC) (NYC WATER BOARD’S ONE-TIME CREDIT TO CLASS 1 PROPERTY OWNERS COUPLED WITH A 2.1% RATE INCREASE DID NOT HAVE A RATIONAL BASIS AND WAS PROPERLY ANNULLED AND VACATED)