Proposed water rate increase on tap

Suggested fees will be up for discussion Jan. 27



 

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Just two months after the City Council voted to potentially increase sanitation rates, a proposed water rate hike is now on tap to help cover the rising costs for the daily operation and maintenance of Simi’s water distribution system.

Ventura County Waterworks District No. 8 provides between 6 million and 22 million gallons of water daily, depending on the time of year, to about 60% of residents through 24,000 connections across the city, said Joe Deakin, Simi’s assistant public works director.

Most of the drinking water is purchased from the Calleguas Municipal Water District, and for fiscal year 2019-20 the district budgeted $30.2 million of its roughly $45-million budget to cover the cost.

Current bimonthly service rates, which were adopted in 2015 for a five-year period, are $61 for a single-family home and just shy of $43 for a multifamily residence. There’s also a commodity charge per billing unit, or 748 gallons of water per cubic foot, of $3.86 and $3.89 for single-family and multifamily, respectively.

 

 

Under the proposed bimonthly rates, a single-family residence would incrementally increase to just over $78 by 2025, while the cost for multifamily residences would go up to just over $48 in the same time period, according to a city staff report. The commodity fees would rise to $4.66 and $4.41 for single-family and multifamily, respectively.

“Our current budget is healthy. However, it’s important (to note) that when we adopted (2015) rates, we were at near bankruptcy with this fund,” Deakin said at Monday’s council meeting.

“We were nearly insolvent, so we’re still in a recovery mode and getting our reserves back to a healthy level,” he said, adding that increasing fees will help continue replenishing the waterworks district fund.

The remaining 40% of residents are serviced by the Golden State Water Company. Its monthly rate for a single-family home is just over $63 as of this June, and that price will remain in effect through 2021, when prices will be revisited. The 2019 rate is up from about $60 in 2018.

On Monday, the council voted unanimously for city staff to move forward with notifying waterworks users of a potential service increase, which is paid out of an enterprise fund subsidized by customer fees.

Deakin presented the council with two payment options: a tiered system that would charge customers different amounts based on how much water they use, or a flat rate that charges everyone the same regardless of how much they use.

In regard to a tiered system, the council raised concerns that people living on larger parcels or residences that have multiple people living in them would be negatively affected.

“ I t ’ s kind of an imposed upon-you method of saving water. I’m having a real struggle with that because . . . I’ve taken all these measures and could still end up having to pay more in a tiered system,” Mayor Keith Mashburn said Monday. “I can understand charging me what it takes per gallon” used and not based on lot size.

Councilmember Mike Judge echoed Mashburn, adding that those who pay more in property taxes shouldn’t be punished with higher water rates.

“If you go with the (flat) rate, everybody is the same (and) you have the option . . . to choose whether you’re going to save water. It’s not forced on you because of the rate,” Judge said.

Deakin said that whether the district uses a flat rate or a tiered system, customers still have the choice to reduce water use. But the council members argued it’s more forced under the tiered rates.

Because water rates are property related fees for a utility, any proposed increase must go through the Proposition 218 process, which gives property owners advance notice of any proposed utility rate change and 45 days to protest.

Ultimately, the council decided to stay with the flat rate system. Fees will be determined at the Jan. 27 meeting, when the public can weigh in on the price, and written protests will be tallied to determine the next step.

In addition, residents face a potential increase in sanitation and sewer rates to help cover the cost of necessary improvements to the city’s aging sewer lines and water quality control plant.

Currently, a single-family homeowner pays $38 per month, and those living in multifamily residential dwellings and mobile homes pay $27. Under the proposed hikes, single-family residences could incrementally go up to $56 by 2024, while multifamily may go up to $40.

The council will revisit that proposed fee at its Oct. 28 meeting, where the public can weigh in and the number of written protests will be tallied.