While the Chapala municipal government will maintain 2017 rates for next year’s property taxes (predial), business licenses and other municipal fees, the autonomous water utility, Sistema Municipal de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado (SIMAPA), will increase their annual charges for water and sewage services by a hefty 7.38 percent.
The hike applies across the board for all consumers, including both users who pay fixed quotas and those charged at a lower rate according to water meter readings.
SIMAPA offices in Chapala and other localities will reopen to receive 2018 payments as of Tuesday, January 2, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Castastro land registry office at Chapala City Hall will operate on the same schedule, with mobile cashier units making rounds to collect predial in various subdivisions from January 8-30.
Both agencies apply a 15-percent discount on bills paid during January and February.
Dale Hoyt Palfrey