PUEBLO — On Monday night, Pueblo's City Council voted in favor of a Water Tap Fee for every new tap in Pueblo West.
The intergovernmental agreement (IGA) passed 4-3, asking the Pueblo West Metro District to pay $1,500 per each new water tap during the time of their lease with the city.
In January, Pueblo's Board of Water Works unanimously agreed to lease water to Pueblo West for the next five years.
Pueblo West's Metro Board still has to vote on the IGA themselves, and will not for another two weeks.
However, the five-year lease is already signed and the IGA will not factor into the water Pueblo West is getting from the city.
Pueblo West is low on water, and currently trying to evaluate other long-term solutions to accommodate growth.
Pueblo's Mayor Nicholas Gradisar says the tap fee is a way to make up for tax revenue lost when people choose to build homes in Pueblo West, instead of inside Pueblo's city limits.
"We want to be good neighbors. For too long it seems to me, our relationship between Pueblo and Pueblo West has been defined by that legal maxim - Good fences make good neighbors," said Gradisar to the Pueblo West Board of Director's on Monday night's meeting.
Several on the Board of Directors for Pueblo West argued that their residents contribute plenty to the city of Pueblo is sales tax revenue.
"If we are responsible for $8 to $10 million worth of your annual revenue, I want to point out that I believe we are a good neighbor. Short of not paying sales tax for materials that go into a house," said Doug Proal, the President of the Board of Directors.
The next Board of Directors meeting for Pueblo West is on February 28.
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