Customers of Bethany Special Utility District in rural Johnson County are questioning a residential rate increase that raised the monthly minimum charge and took effect with September bills. The dispute also intensified after the district scheduled an August 25 board meeting and then postponed it without first posting its agenda online.
Albert Plasket and Tim Crossno, who receive Bethany SUD water because city service is unavailable in their area, told NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth that they learned about the increase through a customer notice rather than through the board's May rate decision. The notice said the residential rate would rise by 55 cents, to as much as $4.50 per 1,000 gallons depending on single-meter usage, while the monthly minimum service charge would increase from $43 to $55 per meter.
The notice and meeting questions
Plasket has questioned the basis for the increase, whether customers should have received advance notice that rates would be considered and whether the change could have been phased in. Bethany SUD serves about 1,400 customers and is governed by an elected board of customers, according to NBC 5's reporting.
The district had posted a paper notice outside its Alvarado office for the August 25 meeting but had not posted the agenda online or on social media. District official David Woodard said the meeting was postponed after the online-notice problem was identified. Texas Government Code Section 551.056 addresses concurrent online posting of open-meeting notices and agendas for certain listed governmental bodies, as summarized in Caldwell County records.
What the district says—and what customers can do
Woodard attributed the increase to higher operating costs, including electricity for pumps, employee compensation and pipe materials. He said the district needed positive cash flow to maintain service. NBC 5 reported that a consultant helped the district review its rates using operational and financial records; a district business manager estimated that a household like Plasket's could see an increase of about $26.
Under Texas Water Code Section 13.043, however, at least 10% of affected customers may appeal a rate change to the PUCT within 90 days. The commission can then review whether the rates are just and reasonable; the statutory framework is summarized by Texas Water Code Section 13.043.
There is precedent for that process reaching a formal commission decision. In a case involving Windermere Oaks Water Supply Corporation, the PUCT ordered monthly refunds and authorized a surcharge for rate-case expenses after reviewing a ratepayer appeal, according to the commission's order. In another case, a ratepayer appealed Westwood Shores Municipal Utility District's December 19, 2022, rate decision, according to the PUCT's case materials.
Green Valley Special Utility District was considering rate adjustments for fiscal 2025, according to its August 13, 2024 packet.
For Bethany customers, the unresolved questions are therefore both local and procedural: what records support the new rates, how the district complied with open-meeting requirements and whether enough affected customers will join an appeal before the 90-day deadline. The PUCT appeal route provides a formal review mechanism.
