SJB City Council OK's higher water and sewer rates - Benitolink: San Benito County News
The San Juan Bautista City Council moved to consider new ordinances that will hike water and sewer services rates over a five-year period and considered amendments to zoning development standards after long deliberations at its Aug. The still-to-be-finalized ordinance for water and sewer services rates is the city’s response to the June ruling on San Juan Capistrano’s tiered water rates, which were ruled unconstitutional because government fees are required to match service... Some consider the ruling as an aftermath of the Governor’s tough stance on water conservation. Like some cities, San Juan Bautista is anticipating lawsuits against its own tiered rates which may be construed illegal. City Manager Roger Grimsley introduced financial analyst Matthew Griffith to the Council. His agency, Bartle Wells Associates, worked on a study of the city’s water finances. Griffith said, based on the San Juan Capistrano ruling and the study, San Juan Bautista “must re-do the city’s water rates. ” He proposed to do it by looking both at the uniform rate and the increases for the next five years. The discussion that followed revealed more of the city’s water problems, including: $1. 8 million that the Water and Sewer Enterprise funds ate out of the General Fund, high nitrite levels causing one out of two wells to be shut down, the city’s... Some (who use San Juan Bautista supplied water) don’t even have meters. Source: benitolink.com
