City halts water surcharge at RV parks

The Olney City Council voted on Sept. 9 to stop collecting a monthly water surcharge from the city’s RV parks after attorneys for the Texas Association of Campgrounds [TACO] challenged the fee as illegal under a state law passed last year.

The owners of Over Yonder RV Park and Wade’s RV Park protested that the $35 per month per slip charge was a financial burden that could drive them out of business when the Council enacted it in 2022. The Council later amended the ordinance to allow the RV parks and local motels to pay the surcharge only for rooms and slips that were occupied each month.

After receiving a letter from TACO challenging the surcharge on behalf of Over Yonder and Wade’s RV Park, the Council consulted with City Attorney BIll Myers and voted to stop collecting the fee “pending further legal review.”

Mayor Rue Rogers said the City collects about $7,000 per year in water surcharges per year from the RV parks – funds that are to help pay for the City’s stalled water treatment plant.

Marla Pollitt, owner of Over Yonder, said the City’s vote brings long-needed relief for her business.

“I will not have to turn campers away with the $35 per spot charge being dropped. I’m sure this will help the other businesses in town as well,” she said after the vote. “I’m looking forward to offering more things for the campers to enjoy while they are here staying in Olney.”

With the help of TACO and Rep. Ryan Guillen, R-Rio Grande City, the Olney owners changed state law to exempt RV parks and campgrounds from utility surcharges by amending a state law last year that allowed the properties to be subject to residential surcharges.

“The problem occurs when a utility or district views an RV park as a residential entity instead of a commercial entity whenever setting water and wastewater rates or increasing rates not consistent with statute,” Rep. Guillen wrote in a letter clarifying the new law’s intent. “RV parks should be viewed as commercial entities that provide water and wastewater services through one master meter that serves multiple transient uses rather than units with individual water meters.”

The ordinance still applies to the City’s other hospitality businesses in cases in which guests stay longer than 30 days.