Water Company ‘Illegally Taxed’ Residents With Tax Disguised As ‘Franchise Fee’, Court Rules

A District Court Judge ruled that the city of El Paso was illegally taxing it’s water customers by charging a ‘franchise fee’ ruling that the fee
“Is unreasonable, excessive, and/or intended to raise revenue making it a tax” adding that the fee was “unconstitutional and should be discontinued.”
Former State Representative Joe Pickett filed the lawsuit back in October of 2020, saying
‘The City of El Paso took advantage of us and created what they thought was an innocuous fee of $1.10 a month, they raised it to $4 a month, then to $6 a month, creating a hidden tax. What started as $2 million a year, is now almost $14 million a year, with no oversight or explanation for its use.’