Wednesday night, an updated presentation was given for the sewage rates. The updated presentation follows several community meetings held to inform the community about how sewer rates are determined and what work needs to be done on the sewer system.
A third-party consultant, HF&H, conducted a cost-of-service analysis of the sewage system in Bakersfield and presented on Wednesday.
After explaining the cost-of-service analysis, Kristina Budak, Director of Water Services, presented six rate options. The options explained how much rates will go up in the first year and how much they would increase until reaching a rate of around $1,000 a year. The options also stated how much the city would need to bond for each scenario. The purpose of the presentation on Wednesday was to get feedback from the city council and be able to narrow down options to present in January, according to City Manager Christian Clegg.
The first option was to raise the rate to $950 in the first year, similar to the plan earlier this year. It would mean the city needing to bond 180 million dollars, and the rates would go up three percent every year after that, and by year five, the rates would be $1,069.
The second scenario raises the rate to $700 and increases it each year until the rate reaches $1,087 in the fifth year. This would leave the city needing a $250 million bond. The third rate option would raise the yearly rate to $600 for the first year and go up $100 a year to reach $1,000 by year five. The bond amount for this option would be $360 million.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth options start with the rate being $475 for the first year.
The fourth scenario increases by $125 per year for five years, reaching $975 by the fifth year, and the bond amount would be $410 million.
The last two scenarios are based on a seven-year increase model, but will result in a two-year delay in the infrastructure needed for the sewage plants. Therefore, the funding plans for those projects would be moved to years 11 through 15 in the overall 15-year plan that the cost-of-service analysis helped create.
The fifth scenario would increase by $110 a year to reach $1,135 by the seventh year. There would not be a bond in the 10-year plan for this scenario. The sixth scenario is to increase every year to reach $1,087 by the seventh year, and the bond for the city would be $90 million.
The infrastructure updates include the plant two and three updates, along with building plant four. The price of these upgrades is included in the rates and the possible bond amounts the city will need to take out.
One person showed up to give a public comment: Joel Paramo, representing the Bakersfield Business Coalition. He stated that they had submitted a letter to the City Council asking that they find a way to lessen the impact on the community members for the needed upgrade to the infrastructure.
“Our coalition recognizes the importance of maintaining and modernizing our critical wastewater systems. But the proposed rate adjustments present a substantial financial burden on residents, small businesses, and seniors living on fixed incomes. We encourage the council to direct staff to evaluate a bond-funded alternative either in whole or in part,” said Paramo, adding that they appreciate the city’s commitment to transparency.
The city council members asked several questions of the staff regarding bonding options. Vice Mayor Manpreet Kaur stated she would prefer a no-bonding option because it sounded more fiscally responsible, but wanted to know the implications of pushing off infrastructure.
Evette Roldan, Assistant Director of the Wastewater Department, stated it would mean taking on more interim projects to ensure plant three can continue to hold the city over until they can start plant four.
Councilmembers Zack Bashirtash and Andrae Gonzales both spoke about the fact that many people in the community are on fixed incomes.
All the council members present spoke about what they had heard at the community meetings. They stated that most community members understood that the rates needed to go up, but were concerned about how much they would increase at once.
Kaur spoke about the importance of considering how monthly rates will impact the community.
“If the government is still shut down tomorrow, folks will no longer be receiving food stamps,” said Kaur. “So if we’re conscious of what our residents are thinking right now, it really is the month-to-month cost, and even if the rates are changing next year, it is on us to be thoughtful about the costs we’re asking residents to take on.”
Councilmember Bashirtash said he promised at a community meeting to come back for a meeting to present more options. Clegg stated that it was possible, and they are planning a virtual town hall as well; however, Bashirtash noted that many of his constituents do not want the virtual meeting. Bob Smith also confirmed that the scenarios would be available when he meets the residents in Ward 3.
Upcoming Community Meeting:
- Monday, Oct. 27, NOR Recreation Center, 3825 Riverlakes Dr., at 6:00 p.m.
