Camarillo Sanitary District
Written Response to Written Objections and Protests for Proposed Adjustments to Sewer Rates
(AB 2257 – Government Code Sections 53759.1 and 53759.2) The Camarillo Sanitary District (“CSD”, “District”) provides this written response to timely written objections related to CSD’s proposed approval of updates to sewer rates.
This response also includes responses to submissions received by CSD that are related to the sewer rates, were received by the CSD during the time for submitting written objections, but which do not meet the requirements for filing a “timely written objection” in accordance with Government Code Section 53759.1 and the CSD Sewer Rate Setting Procedures (Resolution No. 2025-1).
By March 28, 2025 (which was at least 45 days prior to May 14, 2025), CSD mailed the “Notice of Public Hearing” (Exhibit “A”) to each record owner served by CSD sewer services, and CSD posted the Notice of Public Hearing on CSD’s webpage (shared with the City of Camarillo (“City”)’s webpage -- “cityofcamarillo.org/utilityrates”). The Public Hearing Notice also prominently identified supplemental documents that were concurrently posted on CSD’s webpage, notably including a copy of the Rate Study that identifies each parcel to be charged, the amount of the rates, the basis upon which the rate was calculated, and the reason for the change in rates. The Rate Study was included on CSD’s webpage, and it is labeled “Camarillo Sanitary District Sewer Rate Study” (dated March 27, 2025, prepared on behalf of CSD by Raftelis. In addition to the Public Hearing Notice and Rate Study, CSD’s webpage included supplemental opportunities for the public to obtain information regarding the proposed increase in sewer rates, including informational open houses on April 8 and 26, 2025.
The Public Hearing is scheduled for May 14, 2025, for the Camarillo Sanitary District Board (“Board”) to consider a recommended update to sewer service charges and rates, in accordance with the requirements of “Proposition 218” (California Constitution Article XIII D, Section 6) for approving increases to “property related fees.” The Proposition 218 hearing process includes the opportunity for property owners to submit a “Written Protest” prior to the close of the public hearing, and the CSD is prohibited from approving the increase if there is a “majority protest” (owners of more than 50% of the parcels in the District’s boundaries).
The Public Hearing Notice also provided an opportunity for property owners to submit to the District a “Written Objection” to the proposed rate increases by no later than the identified “deadline” of May 12, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Any written objection is required to identify the grounds for alleging CSD did not comply with Proposition 218. In accordance with “AB 2257,” CSD is required to provide a written response at the public hearing for each timely written objection received prior to the deadline (“AB 2257” is Assembly Bill 2257, Chapter 561, Statutes of 2024; codified at Government Code Sections 53759.1 and 53759.2).
CSD’s Response to Written Objections and Protests (2025-05-14)
As of the time of the deadline, CSD had received two “Written Objections,” summarized below, and attached as Exhibits “D” and “E.” Full copies of Written Objections are available upon request to the Assistant Secretary.
1. Charlene P. Saurer-Pietrowski
1. Objects to Camarillo’s flat rate and minimum charge utility billing proposal.
Proposition 218 requires that fees be proportionate to benefit.
2. Linda Hillman
1. Residential rates are fixed and not based on how much sewage a residence sends for treatment
2. Small users subsidize big users
3. City has not shown that the amount of a contested assessment is proportional to and not greater than the benefits conferred on properties with lower sewer use
4. Prop 218 (California Constitution XIII D) requires that no assessment shall be imposed on any parcel which exceeds the reasonable cost of the proportional special benefit conferred on that parcel and that the burden shall be on the agency to demonstrate that the amount of the contested assessment is proportional to and not greater than the benefits conferred on properties
5. Any court case against the rates will be decided on the evidence submitted to the City, not new evidence
6. Camarillo charges business based on use and it’s fair to charge homes the same way
7. Some agencies have landscape meters to keep irrigation off the main meter
8. Camarillo has not met its burden of showing that the amount of the assessment is proportional to and not greater than the benefits conferred on properties with low sewer use nor why it is proportional to vary business charges with use and not vary residential charges with use.
9. Other agencies vary charges based on usage for both water and sewer including: Oxnard, Ventura (City), Santa Barbara (City), San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles (City), San Diego (City), and San Francisco
10.Camarillo’s 2025 sewer rate study adds inflation to past rates at a16% each year to cover bonds for a new treatment plant
11.The 2017 rate study did not explain why the City should not set rates by use as it does for non-residential, and as the same consultant recommended for the City of Ventura in 2022.
12.Cotati City says efficient homes use 25-30 gallons per day and Denver recommends 40
13.Camarillo’s plan will charge some businesses $6.32 HCF plus a base charge. Proportional rates would bill each family $6.32/HCF plus a base charge. The base would be $43 to raise the same money as the proposed flat rate
14.For sewer customers where Camarillo does not provide water, the City can ask the water provider for usage. If the City doesn’t get water use data, they can: (a) ask the customer to provide a water bill, (b) charge for CSD’s Response to Written Objections and Protests (2025-05-14)
high usage if they don’t, and (c) every year or two check the meter and reconcile charges
15.In 2013 John Bakker, a city attorney for two cities, gave a presentation to the League of California Cities and recommended, “Avoid flat rate and minimum charges unless the use-based justification is explained in detail.
16.Camarillo’s 2017 sewer rate study in 2017 cites the manual Financing and Charges for Wastewater for their methodology but the 2005 and 2018 versions of that book say that it’s common practice to use metered water data to estimate customer-contributed residential wastewater volume Therefore, CSD has prepared the “Written Response” to the Written Objections as set forth on Exhibit “B” (attached hereto), with references to the relevant sections (by numbers 1-1 and 2-1 through 2-16) to which the response is directed. For each section of each Written Objection, the Written Response provides the grounds and substantive bases for which the concerns identified in the Written Objections do not result in a justification to amend the proposed increases to sewer rates, as described in the Notice of Public Hearing.
Other than the two Written Objections identified above, CSD received the 126 “Submittals” identified on Exhibit “C” (attached hereto) from property owners prior to the deadline of May 12, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. The Submittals were identified by the owner as a protest and/or an objection to the proposed update to the sewer rates. However, none of the Submittals meet the definition of a timely “written objection” (as defined by California Government Code Section 53759.1(c)(4)) since they do not specify the grounds for alleging the proposed sewer service rates do not comply with the requirements of Proposition 218 (California Constitution Article XIII C, Section 6).
Therefore, the City will consider each Submittal as a timely written protest during the public hearing on May 14, 2025.
Although CSD is not legally obligated under AB 2257 to provide a written response to the Submittals, CSD provides this written information to explain how the concerns raised in the Submittals do not establish grounds for amending or altering the proposed changes and increases to CSD’s sewer rates. This response incorporates by reference the substantive information included in CSD’s Written Response to Written Objections.
As documented on the Notice of Public Hearing, which included documents available on CSD’s website (cityofcamarillo.org/utilityrates), CSD calculated the amount of the proposed sewer service rates in accordance with Proposition 218 in order to charge each customer the amount needed to pay the proportionate cost of providing sewer service to each property owner.
The Camarillo Sanitary District carefully set the sewer service rate in an amount that was limited to what will be needed to provide the sewer services to customers. This requirement is satisfied and documented in the Rate Study at Table 4-6 which begins with revenue from existing rates resulting in a negative fund balance at the end of FY 2029 of more than $70 million, as compared to Table 4-9 which calculates revenue from CSD’s Response to Written Objections and Protests (2025-05-14)
proposed updated sewer rates will result in a fund balance at the end of FY 2029 of $12.7 million. That resulting FY 2029 fund balance will address the reserve policies summarized in the Rate Study, and an overview of reserve balance targets is identified in Rate Study Figure 4-3. That resulting FY 2029 fund balance will address the reserve policies summarized in the Rate Study, and an overview of reserve balance targets is identified in Rate Study Figure 4-3 and Table 4-9.
The proposed updated sewer rates include the Escalation Factors section on pages 12 and 13 of the Rate Study, which are applied over the four annual adjustments through July 1, 2029. CSD used a general inflation factor estimated at 3 percent per year to reflect long-term historical averages of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and an estimated increase to salaries and benefits of 9 percent annually. CSD applies specific inflationary factors to cost categories to allow for more accurate future costing estimates. These inflationary factors are generally based on realized cost increases each year and what we expect to occur in future years.
CSD included a general inflation factor of 3 percent on the costs of providing service that are not otherwise specified with their own inflationary factor as outlined on Table 3- 3 of the Rate Study. We believe this to be a reasonable estimate of anticipated increases over the next four-year period between 2025 and 2029 since the historical annual averages of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) have seen increases between 2.9 and 8 percent over the last four completed calendar years and a 20-year average of 3 percent per year based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Table 3-3 on page 13 of the Rate Study identifies the 9 percent estimated escalation of costs for salary and benefits over four years. This estimate of future personnel costs is based on analysis of the City’s historical salary and benefit data from the past five years. These increases are not solely related to employee salaries – they are also driven by external factors like pension costs and health care benefits.
CSD complied with the Proposition 218 requirement that rates be set in an amount proportional to the cost of service attributable to each parcel, as documented in the Rate Study at cityofcamarillo.org/sewerstudy2025.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Therefore, CSD staff recommends that the Camarillo Sanitary District Board: (a) consider the substance of each timely written objection and the written response from CSD staff; and (b) determine the timely written objections do not result in any amendment to or alteration of the proposed sewer rates, based on the analysis included on CSD’s website (notably including the Rate Study) and presented as a part of the public hearing on May 14, 2025, which provides the substantive bases for the Board’s approval of the sewer rates as proposed.