Roger Wineland is one of the lucky ones at Lake Berryessa Estates in Pope Valley.

His most recent bi-monthly water and sewer bill came to $260. That's up from a normal bill of $40. He's lucky because John Hallman, who lives just up the road from Wineland, paid $1,100 for his most recent bill. Normally Hallman would pay about $200.

The board of the Lake Berryessa Resort Improvement District -- essentially the Napa County Board of Supervisors operating under another name -- voted 3-2 to raise the small Pope Valley utility district's rates drastically in April to combat state fines, fix equipment problems and help appease regulators after the state sued the district in February.

The rates took effect in July and the reverberations of the board's decision are coursing through the 350-parcel working-class subdivision in northeastern Pope Valley, now that many fall bills have come past due.

Homes are up for sale, the Salvation Army stepped in to pay one resident's water bill and other residents are talking about suing their former real estate agents over alleged misinformation.

"I just want people to know that the officials are cheating people down here," Wineland, 74, said, adding as soon as he finishes doing some maintenance work on his house he'll leave. "I'm not going to take this. I don't care if I break even. I don't care if I take a loss. I'm retired on Social Security and I can't afford my water bill."

This isn't the first time residents have had to swallow taxes and rate hikes to pay for improvements to their small water and sewer district. In 1998 and 2000, the residents voted in taxes that cost nearly $800 on their property tax bill. At that time homeowners were told the sacrifice would be worth it to fix the problems that had been plaguing the district since the mid-1990s. During rainy months sewage can spill into the Lake Berryessa watershed and on two occasions, sewer mains broke, spilling an estimated 150 gallons of raw sewage in the area.

Records show sewage problems continued despite some repairs. State regulators took the unusual step this year of having state Attorney General Bill Lockyer sue the district and the Napa County Board of Supervisors.

Facing potentially $1.4 million in fines and damages, it was then that district staff called for what has become more than $3.3 million in improvements to water and sewage equipment that had seen years of disrepair.

Roberto Verbera, vice president of the Lake Berryessa Estates homeowner's association, said continued problems have bred mistrust between residents and the district.

"We've been warned through the district but we haven't fixed the problems despite the taxes that have been applied," he said. "A lot of the community thinks our money is going to the (district) lawyers to litigate the fines. Meanwhile, all it takes is a good rain and (the sewage system) will be spilling into the lake."

Nate Galambos, district principal engineer, said residents' money is going toward legal fees.

"That's only a small portion of the budget," he said. "Do the rates include that? Of course they do, it's the only revenue stream we have."

Galambos couldn't say how much money the district was spending on legal fees, however. He is more focused on preparing a financing package that could ultimately cut resident's water and sewer rates.

Right now district homeowners are paying for the cost of the operation of the district, costs for a $2.4 million loan and payments on a $400,000 fine levied by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

If Galambos can convince district voters to approve new financing that will cover not just homeowners, but also lot owners, the financial burden will spread and overall rates will lower -- but Galambos said he is far from the point where he could figure out how much.

"Everything is so loose right now we can't calculate," he said.

One reason is the district also applied for a $10 million low interest bond that may also cover needed improvements for another ailing small utility at the south end of Lake Berryessa, the Napa Berryessa Resort Improvement District. If that goes through within the next month and a half, the low interest rate could save homeowners money in both utilities. Meanwhile, an assessment vote will go to the Pope Valley district voters in January or February.

As bills come due, Galambos is on orders from the Napa County Board of Supervisors not to be lenient when it comes to collecting bills. He said there have been few collections issues.

"People are paying their bills," he said.

Verbera is one of them. His water and sewer bill went from $100 to $700. He said some of his neighbors are getting sick from the stress of paying their bills. He's felt some stress, too.

"We have four kids, dentist appointments, stuff like that," he said. "It's tough. ... People are looking to get out of here."