October 6, 2021
 
To: Ashland Talent Irrigation District Customers
Regarding: Proration of Irrigation Water Charges for 2021
 
Several Ashland residents that are Talent Irrigation District (TID) customers have requested that the fee for irrigation water be prorated for the 2021 season due TID not providing irrigation water for the entire irrigation season.  The City of Ashland fee that is assessed to the TID customers is a flat fee that is assessed in the month of September for the preceding irrigation season.  The current TID fee is set by Council and therefore staff must have Council approval to deviate from the fees and the fee structure approved by Council.  At the October 5th Council meeting the topic of TID fee assessment and structure was discussed.  Council directed staff to keep the current fee structure in place and not discount the TID 2021 fees.
 
The reason for not prorating the fee was TID did not provide any sort of discount or proration of fees charged to the City of Ashland.  TID has stated that the fees being charged are for the repair and maintenance of the canals and are not tied to the volume of water provided or consumed.  TID has never offered any type of proration or refund in the past 65 years. 
 
Going forward, the City of Ashland will change when the TID fees are billed to the Ashland TID customers.  A letter will be sent to all TID customers in March of 2022 informing customers what the fees will be for the 2022 season.  The 2022 irrigation fees will be billed in April of 2022 rather than September of 2022.  Ashland TID customers that chose not to have irrigation water for the 2022 season would need to contact customer service before the end of March to prevent the fee from being on their April water bill. 
 
I believe this process will enable customers to make informed decisions prior to the start of the irrigation season.
 
  
Gary Milliman
City Manager Pro Tem