Logo courtesy of City of West Sacramento

WEST SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – Citing a need to address aging infrastructure concerns amid rising system operating costs, the City Council at its March 18 meeting unanimously approved raising city water and sewer rates, the first such approved rate increase since 2021, according to a staff presentation at the meeting.

The council also approved changes to its “Low-Income Rate Assistance” (LIRA) program which provides rate-paying assistance to qualifying residential utility customers.

Council approvals came after a public hearing and comment period that saw a number of objections filed online during the procedure but not enough to constitute a majority of affected homeowners and therefore prevent the rates from being adopted.

Rate increases will vary depending upon use and increase incrementally each year to Jan. 1, 2030. The increases include fixed rates as well as consumption charges. Single-family fixed sewer charges jump from $10.88 to $19.85 beginning April 1 – an over 45% increase. The rate increases by over 23% in 2027 to $25.81 and over 20% to $32.26 in 2028 before slowing to single digits, topping out at $38.33 in 2030.

Multifamily rates increase from the current $8.16 per unit to $13.53 – a jump of almost 40%. The same annual increase percentage for single-family holds true for multifamily, eventually reaching $26.13 by 2030. Commercial fixed rates decrease beginning April 1, dropping from $5.40 to $3.19 per account before rising again in 2028 to $6.17 by 2030.

Commercial users are also charged a consumption rate, which is currently $3.16 per one hundred cubic feet (HCF). That rate decreases to $2.41 on April 1 before rising annually to $4.67 per HCF in 2030.

Water rate increases depend upon the residence or commercial building meter sizes, with most city water customers using a 3/4-inch or 1-inch meter size. Current monthly fixed charges for these are $24.61 and $40.98 respectively and will increase April 1 to $35.93 and $58.42 – a jump of roughly 30% for both.

Water rate consumption charges for all customers also increase, with one HCF equal to 748 gallons of water. Consumption charges increase from the current $2.43 / HCF to $2.46 per HCF, rising each year to $3.31 in 2030. Rick Simonson, senior vice president at HF&H Consultants who performed the city’s rate study, said revenue from utility rates can only be used for capital projects associated with these services. He said the proposed sewer rates were for collection only, and do not include costs for treatment performed by Sacramento Area Sewer District.

He also said the proposed water and sewer rates were the maximum amounts over the next five years.

“If you revisit them, you could do something less, just not something more,” he added.

Simonson, West Sacramento Finance Director Roberta Raper and Public Works Director Rebecca Scott told council rate increases were needed to help make up a funding gap between what is currently collected and what is needed to pay for about $93 million in water infrastructure and $44 million in sewer infrastructure projects over the next five years identified in the 2025 Water & Sewer Master Plans.

That’s compared to the $33 million in water and $10 million in sewer infrastructure proposed from 2017-2021 detailed in the last Cost of Service analysis in 2017.

Simonson added the city’s intent is to use a combination of rate revenue, reserve funds and potential debt – bonds or loans – to fund these projects. Current “shovel-ready” projects include the $8.7 million High Service Manifold Vault and Effluent Water Meter project at the city’s water treatment plant and the $8 million South Sewer Lift Station, which is too small to handle normal flows without backing up the system.

Other proposed infrastructure work includes water tank rehabilitation projects, estimated at $33.8 million; $44.6 million in water system replacement work, $42.1 million in sewer pump station rehabilitation projects and $10 million to replace worn and aging water meters.

“Water meters fail by under registering (consumption),” Scott said. “That results in less revenue for the city but is more favorable to customers.”

The Low-Income Rate Assistance program includes increases to the monthly credit amount people enrolled in the program can put towards their water and sewer bill. The current credit of $3 for water/sewer will jump to $18 per month for households at 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL).

A new Fixed Income Senior Rate Assistance program is proposed that provides a monthly $15 credit on water/sewer bills for those 62 years old and over and with a fixed income of 250% of the FPL. Both rate assistance programs are funded by tax revenue from Measure K, with a current annual budget of $15,000. Raper said the LIRA is currently used by 192 customers, costing less than $7,000 per year, adding they hope the increased discount and an education program will get more eligible people to enroll.

Public comments were highly critical of the city’s rate increase, particularly the level of increase and timing, coming when national and international events have led to sharp increases in items such as food, gas and energy. Objections noted a financial burden from rates increasing faster than incomes, shifting financial consequences of past development and planning decisions onto current customers and not demonstration the rates are “unavoidable” and the result of “properly pace infrastructure planning relative to recent growth.”

“Why are we coming to the point where we have to raise it (rates) so high?” West Sacramento condominium owner and homeowners association member Kathy Bailey asked. “We need to look closer at the budget.”

“What would the repercussions be if we put it off?” Councilwoman Norma Alcala asked about the increase. “What would happen if we put it off a year?”

“We would be in the same position,” Raper said.

“The repercussions of that are severe,” City Manager Aaron Laurel added. “It has to happen at some point.”

Laurel went on to explain that past City Councils had elected to take a “softer approach” to rate increases, particularly during the economic downturn from the Covid pandemic. If councils had approved such increases in 2021, it might have created an even more difficult economic burden on customers as the country emerged from the pandemic.

“There is no good time to increase rates,” Councilwoman Dante Early said, adding the council has tried to be as sensitive as possible to the local economic situation.

“Something has to be done,” she said. “If we wait longer, it’s going to just compound.”

Council approved the rate increases and changes to the LIRA program 4-0, with Councilwoman Quirina Orozco not in attendance.