City Council

6. PROPOSED WATER RATE INCREASE AND ADOPTION OF RESOLUTION R2M23-40\n– F2M23-50, R2M23-40\nThis is the time and place set by Notice for the City Council to hold a public hearing to\nconsider a proposed water rate increase and adoption of Resolution No. R2M23-40. On\nMay 22, 2023 City Council was presented with the Water Rate Study 2023. To ensure that\nthe City can properly fund the operation and management of its water system, the City\nengaged Robert D. Niehaus Inc to evaluate the City’s water system revenue needs and\ncalculate a water rate structure that proportionally recovers water service costs from its\ncustomers. The Water Rate Study 2023 evaluated the City’s increased costs of service\nand assessed the adequacy of its existing revenues in order to calculate rates to\nproportionally recover the City’s cost of service from each customer level. Water rates\nhave not been increased since 2013. The majority of the City’s customers (86 percent)\nhave 5/8” or 1” meters. The median use for all retail customers is 9.5 hundred cubic feet\n(hcf) per month, or 19 hcf per billing period. Under the new rate schedule, in the first year,\ncustomers with a 5/8” meter who use the median amount of water will see an increase of\n$5.32 per month, or $10.63 per billing period. Customers using the median amount of\nwater with a 1” meter will see a $3.33 per month increase, or $7.65 per billing period.\nIn accordance with Article XIIID of the California Constitution (Proposition 218), notices of\nthis public hearing were mailed to every customer and property owner in order to allow the\ncommunity to submit formal protests and/or offer testimony on the proposed water rate\nincrease. If a majority of the customers subject to the water rate submit written protests\nto the proposed charges, the Council cannot adopt the resolution, per the requirements of\nProposition 218. A total of 14,164 notices of the Proposed Increase of Water Rates,\nprinted in English, Spanish, and Chinese, were mailed to water system customers. The\nnotice was also posted on the City’s website, and made available at City Hall and the\nCustomer Service Center. Thus far, 27 letters of protest have been received. Copies of\nall letters of protest are on file at the City Clerk’s Office.\nRecommended Action: After receiving public testimony, the Mayor should close the\npublic hearing and the City Council should adopt Resolution No. R2M23-40 entitled: A\nResolution of the City Council of the City of Alhambra fixing the rates for water service\neffective July 25, 2023 relating to the adoption of an increase in water rates; and, direct\nstaff to undertake the steps necessary to finalize Council’s action.\nCONSENT AGENDA (Item Nos. 7 – 35)\nAll items listed under the Consent Agenda are considered by the City Council to be routine and\nwill be enacted by one motion unless a citizen or Council member requests otherwise; in which\ncase, the item will be removed for separate consideration.