Arizonans fight rate hike after private equity takeover

As Raul Salmon sees it, he and his neighbors are fighting Goliath when it comes to a looming $80-a-month increase to their water and sewer bills.

“And we are the tiniest of Davids,” Salmon said.

Salmon and other retirees at Robson Ranch, a master-planned community of about 1,900 homes near Eloy, want the Arizona Corporation Commission to reject increases being sought by their water and wastewater utilities. The increases come after a long stretch of steady bills, and after their small utilities were purchased by one of the largest private equity funds in the world.