Public Hearing

The City of Pittsburg wishes to notify you of a Public Hearing of the City Council on July 18, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. at the City Hall Council Chambers to discuss Water rate increases for fiscal years (FY) 2022/23 through 2026/27. The City will accept public comments at the Public Hearing. The City Council may increase water rates at the end of the hearing. The meeting room is accessible to the disabled. Persons with hearing or vision disabilities may ask before the meeting for assistance in participating in the meeting.

Protests

Any water customer or owner of a property served by the City water utility may submit a written protest to the City by:

• Hand delivering it during business hours or mailing it to the City Clerk, 65 Civic Avenue, Pittsburg, CA 94565; or
• Personally submitting the protest at the Public Hearing.

Protests must be received by the end of the public hearing, including those mailed to the City. Protests not actually received by the end of the hearing (whether or not mailed before the hearing) will not be counted. Only one protest will be counted per parcel even if both an owner and a tenant protest, for example. Protests will not be counted it they are emailed or faxed to the City, and they must have an original signature on them.

Although oral comments at the public hearing will not count as a protest unless a written protest is also submitted, the City Council welcomes input from the community on the proposed water rates. A written protest must include the following, and will not be counted if any of these required elements is omitted: a statement protesting the proposed water rate increase; name of the water customer or property owner who is submitting the protest; identity, by street address or Assessor’s Parcel Number, of the parcel for which the protest is submitted; original signature and legibly printed name of the customer or property owner who is submitting the protest.

Additionally, there is a 120-day deadline for a lawsuit challenging the water rate increases under Government Code section 53759(d).

Need for Rate Increases

The proposed increases are needed to maintain the water utility’s finances and physical assets, and to address new Federal and State requirements for water service, as well as increasing costs of water service. Water rates must cover the cost to operate and maintain expenses (including labor, utilities, and supplies), capital expenditures for pipes, tanks and other water system assets, and adequate reserves. This rate increase is necessary due to rising costs of raw water and water treatment as well as maintaining water tanks and pipes and by new Federal and State requirements. The City is committed to improving and maintaining our aging water assets while providing excellent services. City staff recommends annual rate increases to make that possible.

Water Rates - Proposed Rate Structure (Tables 1 and 2):

The water rates have three parts: 1) a monthly service charge which varies by water meter size; 2) a rate for metered water use, and 3) fee per connection for water lines to serve fire sprinklers. Use rates are higher for customers in higher elevations the city because of electricity costs to pump water up to those properties. Most single-family customers have a ⅝- or ¾-inch meter. Charges for water use have two or three prices. The first rate applies to use of 12 hundred cubic feet (HCF) of water or less per month for customers in single-family properties; the second rate applies for water used above that amount in a month. A uniform rate applies to all other customers except seniors. Use rates for seniors have three tiers and are lower than other resident rates. All proposed rates ,including single-family, non-single-family and senior rates, appear in Tables 1 and 2. The proposed rates will increase rates each year for five years.

If approved, the new rates will go into effect on August 1, 2022.

For further information, please contact Paul Rodrigues, Finance Director via email or phone at (925) 252-4848.