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Wednesday, January 2, 2013 | 75 cents
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By Brian Beckley Staff Writer
Updates daily at
New Year’s Eve should bring us more gray skies with a chance of rain and lows around 34, changing to mostly cloudy skies with highs in the low-40s to ring in 2013 on Tuesday. Wednesday looks like the best day of the week before clouds move back in for the weekend.
City water rates take slight jump this week
As 2012 comes to a close, the Courier-Herald staff is taking a look back over the previous year at the 10 stories that most affected our coverage area. From a new police chief to a state champsionship, several local council issues to an international incident that included a Lake Tapps resident and the deadliest summer on record on Lake Tapps, 2012 certainly kept all of us on our toes. Here is our list of the top stories of the year. Dana Powers named chief of police When Bonney Lake Police Chief Mike Mitchell retired in Sept. 2011, Deputy Chief Dana Powers took over and became
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Interim Chief. After more than a year of leading the Bonney Lake Police Department, the champion swimmer and 23-year law enforcement veteran still had the “interim” at the front of her title. Extended debate over whether Powers should retain civil service protections delayed her official promotion. The matter was settled Nov. 13, 2012 with the council voting to grandfather in civil service protections for current government employees promoted to at-will positions. Powers was sworn in as the city’s first female Chief that night. Bonney Lake and Sumner leave Pierce Transit
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With the loss of bus service due to cost cutting measures, this year saw many of the small cities of East Pierce County officially pulling out of the Pierce Transit District. Following the 2011 rejection of Pierce Transit’s Proposition 1, a new tax measure that officials said was needed to keep buses rolling, bus service was ended on all routes east of Meridian Avenue in Puyallup. In late 2011, a Public Transportation Improvement Conference was officially called to discuss the Pierce Transit Boundaries and a new district map was drawn up.
See STORies, Page 2
The new year means new utility rates for Bonney Lake residents. Base and consumption rates for water all increase slightly as of Jan. 1 for residents. According to city code, water costs in the city are tied to the consumer price index, which this year went up approximately 2.3 percent from October 2011 to October 2012. The increase in the water availability charge is slight the year and depends on the size of your meter. For homes with a meter size of 5/8-inch to 3/4-inch the increase will be from $14 to $14.32 per month. Residents with a 1-inch meter and a fire sprinkler system will see the same increase. For residents who have a 1-inch meter without a fire sprinkler system, the rate will go from $27.76 to $28.40 per month. Rates also increase slightly for those with larger meters. Water consumption rates are also increasing this week, though very slightly. Winter rates for city residents who use 0-10 CCF (hundreds of cubic feet) per month will see rates increase from $1.16 to $1.19, while those who use more than that will see rates go from $2.29 to $2.34. Outside city limits, the lessor usage amount goes from
See Rates, Page 4
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