City of Arroyo Grande to Hold Public Hearing on Proposed Water and Wastewater Rate Increases

ARROYO GRANDE, CALIFORNIA - At its January 11^th Regular meeting, the Arroyo Grande City Council adopted a Resolution approving a Water and Wastewater Rate Study and set a public hearing for Tuesday, March 8^th at 6:00 PM to consider adopting increased water and wastewater rates. The City invites members of the Arroyo Grande community to participate in the public hearing and provide valuable comments and feedback. The Agenda for the meeting will be published March 4, 2022. Currently, public meetings are being held virtually via Zoom webinar. Additionally, the meeting will be broadcast live on Arroyo Grande Cable Channel 20 and streamed online.

At this hearing, citizens will have the opportunity to comment on and protest the potential water and wastewater rate increases for the City. Approving the proposed rate schedule will provide support to the City's Water Enterprise Fund and Wastewater Enterprise Fund, which fund the City's water and wastewater operations, critical capital improvement projects, the Central Coast Blue project, and appropriate reserves. The proposed rate increases are necessary for the City to continue to provide safe and reliable water and wastewater service to the residents of Arroyo Grande due to increasing operational, maintenance and capital costs. Several factors have contributed to the increase in costs, including, but not limited to: increases in purchased water expenses, rehabilitation, replacement and repair of water and wastewater infrastructure and facilities, adequate revenues to cover debt service payments, the rising cost of electricity and natural gas needed to operate utility facilities, increased costs associated with operation of utility vehicles, ongoing maintenance of infrastructure, increased labor costs, and increased costs associated with meeting more stringent State and Federal regulations.

City water and wastewater customers will receive a Proposition 218 Notice after January 22, 2022, and have until the conclusion of the public hearing on March 8th to submit a written protest of the proposed rate increases.

A written protest must contain a statement that the customer protests the Proposed Water and Wastewater Rate Increases, the address or assessor's parcel number of the parcel(s) which receive water service and must be signed by either the owner or the tenant customer of the parcel or parcels. If the person signing the protest is not shown on the last equalized assessment roll of San Luis Obispo County as an owner of the property, the protest must contain, or be accompanied by, written evidence that such person is an owner of the property, or tenant responsible for payment. Protest letters must include the name and signature of the owner, or tenant customer, submitting the protest.

How to submit a protest letter:

• In person, delivered to the City Clerk at Arroyo Grande City Hall (300 E. Branch St.);
• Via email to the City Clerk at: [e-mail];
• By facsimile addressed to the City Clerk at: [phone]; or
• By mail to:

City of Arroyo Grande

Attn: City Clerk

300 E. Branch St.

Arroyo Grande, CA 93420

Any protest submitted via email must include a digital signature or a valid image of the protestor's signature. Only one written protest will be counted per identified parcel. Any challenges to the Proposed Water and Wastewater Rate Increases, if they are adopted, must be filed as validation suits within 120 days in compliance with SB 323 (Government Code Section 53759), and any other applicable laws.

To sign up for information about future public meetings, please visit https://www.arroyogrande.org/list.aspxto subscribe to the City's email list or email [e-mail].

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CONTACT INFORMATION:

Whitney McDonald, City Manager

[e-mail]