Water rates for San Diegans will rise 14.7% next year and 14.5% the following year after the San Diego City Council Tuesday passed an amended water and wastewater rate hike.
A staff proposal before the council was to increase water rates by 63% through 2029. The now-approved two-year plan passed by a 5-4 majority Tuesday was proposed by Councilman Stephen Whitburn.
Wastewater rates will also increase by 31% over the next four years, which is unchanged from the original proposal.
"I’m really disappointed in the decision today," said Terri Altorelli, a longtime resident of San Diego who's been outspoken against any rate hike. “Everything is going up. Wages are not going up. People just can’t afford it.
In a back-and-forth with Lisa Celaya, executive assistant director for the city, and Jordan More of the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst, Whitburn repeatedly tried to figure out the lowest possible rate increase to keep water flowing amid increased costs from the San Diego County Water Authority and asked the consequences of not meeting that number.
"I want to see the lowest possible number that protects our workers and protect our residents," he said.
Celaya and More were in agreement. If the council did not approve a rate hike, or passed one below what they claim was needed, the city would face an "immediate downward financial spiral," Celaya said.
"Approving rates lower than those proposed would almost entirely eliminate any margin of error," More said. "All levers are being pulled just to get through these two years."
"We really did everything we could to keep the rates as low as possible, and thankfully the council members supported that," Public Utilities Director Juan Guerreiro told ABC 10News. “There’s a direct correlation between to our ability to provide high quality service and the financial health of the organization.”
A proposed 5% or 10% hike instead of the staff proposed rate or the one agreed upon Tuesday would trigger a default from bonding agencies, deplete much of the city's available funds, crater its credit rating and would necessitate the layoffs of around 500 people, or a quarter of the Public Utility Department's staff, Celaya said.
"5% has extreme consequences to us," she said. "Every percentage point matters."
Whitburn was terse in his reply.
"That's quite a choice."
The justification for the increase was largely based on increasing water costs. San Diego's rates remain below the county average.