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Under Paris and Denver Skies (Notre Dame de Paris)
As a once-faithful reader of the Denver weekly Westword, I have to say it's been difficult to read lately. Perhaps as a result of my eyes, now in their sixth decade and the tough times newspapers are facing, I can't read the small type without the reading glasses that give away my age. I picked up the current issue nearly a week ago and it sat unread on my coffee table until I received an e-mail suggesting I should read an article by Jared Jacang Maher concerning a resident of my neighborhood.
Gertrude Cox lives a few of blocks from me in a beautiful house with great views of Huston Lake Park and the Rocky Mountains. The front yard has nearly as many gargoyles as the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. It is an asset to the neighborhood as she receives many compliments. My yard is on a standard city of Denver lot and is only 2/3s the size of Mrs. Cox's, but it has a lot more grass and landscaping. No one has ever complimented me on the appearance of my property. Annually, the Athmar Park Neighborhood Association gives awards to well-kept yards. As a founding member of the association in 1991 and as a past president I could have rigged the elections as if I were the Supreme Leader of Iran, but over the past eighteen years I haven't won it.
The Westword article says Mrs. Cox paid around $400.00 last year to Denver Water in sanitary sewer charges due to the large percentage of her property that is impervious. As someone living nearby, I checked my bills from last year. In 2008, I paid Denver Water a total of $166.42. If my property were the same as Mrs. Cox's, the total would have been $249.63. Because Mrs. Cox's property has more art work than grass, she has to pay a lot more in sewer charges. Update: Please read the comments below as the math isn't quite right as what goes to what service.
Sanitary sewer charges were a minor expense when I bought my Athmar Park home in 1986. Last year, the charge amounted to 38.5% of my annual water bill. Annually, a bill arrives from Wastewater Management for maintenance of Denver's storm drainage system. What was $5.00 in 1986 is now $39.50; an increase much higher than the rate of inflation. The explanation for the increase begins with statements such as, "In order to better serve the residents of the City and County of Denver..."
The Westword article is worth the read. It explains where money collected by Wastewater Management goes. Mrs. Cox and the rest of us are paying for more than sewers.
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