An effort to change utility rates in one California city has raised questions about fairness and where large cash infusions went.
Fresno officials are weighing the city's first water-rate change in a decade, Fresnoland reported. The proposed rate changes would also affect sewer service, whose rates haven't been adjusted in 16 years.
Here's what to know
Jerry Dyer, the mayor of Fresno, said the push for higher rates is rooted in the cost and condition of the city's water and sewer networks, according to Fresnoland. Dyer pointed to aging infrastructure, higher day-to-day operating costs, and the need to keep the city's water and sewer systems safe.
However, others have argued that the utility-rate increases are necessary due to the mayor's other costly endeavors.
Miguel Arias, a councilmember, said the utility proposal is linked to the Southeast Development Area, or SEDA.
"They have money set aside for yet-to-be-defined capital projects," Arias said, per Fresnoland. "That's code for SEDA."
The council will vote on whether to keep the proposed five-year utility plan moving through the approval process. Under that proposal, a typical residential water bill would increase by $1.77 a month in the first year, while the sewer bill would decrease by $0.95, according to Fresnoland.
If councilmembers vote to advance the measure, the next key date would be a public hearing in early December.
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According to city documents, the revised rates would cover work such as replacing water mains, constructing wells, and boosting reserve funds for emergencies and other unforeseen expenses. Dyer said Fresno has reached this point after years without increases even as costs for energy, treatment chemicals, staffing, and regulatory compliance have climbed.
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More background
Even as the mayor's office denied any connection between the utility-rate proposal and SEDA, opponents argued that the large development project was behind the price hikes.
Fresnoland reported that one financing plan under consideration would tap utility reserve funds — or, if those were depleted, add surcharges to residents' utility bills — to support a roughly $86 million bond for the area's first sewer pipe.
Arias, the councilmember, also objected to how the utility measure was presented, calling it "bananas" that the item was placed on the consent agenda, a process that can approve an item without discussion. He said residents deserve more meetings before the city commits to a new rate structure, per Fresnoland.
Critics have also questioned where the money from two separate nine-figure cash infusions to the city went.
In response, Dyer argued that the proposed hikes are not meant to underwrite future growth. He said Fresno can use its $233 million settlement with Shell and Dow over drinking-water contamination only for certain city wells, while the state's nearly $300 million for downtown and Chinatown infrastructure is limited to a small number of neighborhoods. He also said the sewer changes are intended to stop residents from "subsidizing commercial or industrial" customers.
Where can I learn more?
Fresno isn't the only place wrestling with water, sewer, and utility costs. These stories cover rate hikes, sewer infrastructure, treatment costs, conservation incentives, and competing demands for limited water.
• In Illinois, a mayor warned residents could pay 3 times more under a $142 million water hike.
• In Vermont, neighbors feared a multi-million-dollar sewer project could threaten water quality.
• In Louisiana, residents urged officials to look for basic human needs first during shortages.
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