Joanna Durant, who gave her address for the record as 20212 East Bacombe Lane in Queen Creek, used the meeting's public-comment period to urge the council to seek ways to lower water rates instead of increasing them.

"I would propose that the council take it upon themselves to step back and figure out how to make a rate decrease," Durant said. She said she moved to Queen Creek about 13 years ago and compared her water bills unfavorably with those she paid previously in Utah.

Durant asked whether the water-rate increase was scheduled for a May 7 vote and suggested the council review departments for possible expense savings and staffing efficiencies so residents would not be "inordinately penalized" by higher bills. The transcript records her question about the May 7 schedule but does not record a council decision or a formal response beyond staff offering to send scheduling information.

The town's public-comment rules were reviewed earlier in the meeting; the council did not discuss or take action on Durant's remarks during the meeting, consistent with Arizona law limiting discussion of items not on the published agenda.