Just as a business will incur expenses in order to produce and sell a good or service, the Pleasant Prairie Water Utility incurs regular, ongoing expenses in order to provide services to Pleasant Prairie residents. The Utility budgets for these expenses annually and then charges water utility customers a fee for the service provided in order to cover those expenses. As a service provider, the Village continually looks for ways to be as conservative, fair and efficient as possible without compromising the quality of the service provided.
The costs associated with providing municipal water service to residents are divided into three main categories: the cost for purchasing water from the Kenosha Water Utility; the cost for employing people to run/operate the Utility; and the cost for maintaining the Utility infrastructure. These costs are then broken down further to more equitably distribute the cost for particular services amongst all those who use the service.
There are numerous services that can appear on a Pleasant Prairie utility bill (codes for these services are shown on the back of the bill). These could include: water services; sewer services; clean water compliance; garbage and recycling services; and public fire protection. While most of these items are better understood, Public Fire Protection is an item that is not often discussed or explained.
The Public Fire Protection charge that appears on Pleasant Prairie's Utility bill pays for fire hydrants and the water infrastructure and water capacity held in reserve for fighting fires. Other fire fighting expenses, such as: personnel and fire fighting equipment are paid for through the property tax, loans, grants, impact and other fees, the resale of capital equipment, and donations.
Because the Public Fire Protection charge is directly related to water service and infrastructure and because Public Fire Protection is used by both property tax payers and tax-exempt businesses, the fee for Public Fire Protection is billed directly to all who receive the benefit of the service. Doing so ensures that all who benefit from the service participate in its maintenance.