NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
ON PROPOSED NEW/INCREASED WATER AND SEWER RATES
WHERE: Cotati City Hall – Council Chamber and/or by Zoom 201 W. Sierra Avenue
Cotati, California
WHEN: Tuesday, June 14, 2022, not before 6:00 p.m. and as soon thereafter as the matter is reached on the agenda.
PURPOSE: To receive public comment on a proposal for the City Council to consider adopting new/increased water and sewer rates in the City Council Chamber at City Hall, 201 W.
Sierra Avenue, Cotati. At the public hearing, the City Council will accept oral and written testimony, as well as written protests, regarding the proposed water and sewer rates.
Why am I Receiving this Notice?
You are receiving this notice because our records indicate that you are listed as an account holder and/or as the owner of a parcel receiving water and/or sewer service from the City of Cotati (City). The purpose of this notice is to give you information about proposed new/increased water and sewer rates and how you can participate in the rate-setting process.
Rate History
The City of Cotati works each day with limited resources to ensure that residents and businesses receive clean, safe, and reliable water and sewer services, and that the City’s water and sewer systems are maintained to all required standards in order to protect our community’s health and safety, as well as the environment.
Past water rate adjustments have been sufficient to increase the City’s re-investment in critical water infrastructure. Recent increases in operating costs have surpassed previous forecasts, including increased Page | 2
cost of purchasing water from the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA), increases in PG&E rates, increases in contract/chemical costs, and new emergency operations costs associated with fire safety.
Similarly, past sewer rate adjustments have allowed the City to increase capital spending on aging infrastructure, however recent increases in operating costs have surpassed previous forecasts, including the cost of treating wastewater at the Santa Rosa Subregional System, increases in PG&E rates, increases in contract/chemical costs, and new emergency operations costs associated with fire safety.
A water and sewer rate study, recently completed by the City, includes recommendations for adjusting the water and sewer rate schedules that are designed to provide necessary revenues to meet each utility’s needs to cover operating and maintenance costs, meet debt service obligations, and support the capital projects necessary to rehabilitate and upgrade the water and sewer systems, and maintaining prudent financial reserves.
Proposed Water Rates
The proposed water rates retain the same rate structure as the current water rates, including: (1) fixed bimonthly service charge based on the size of the water meter, (2) a three-tier water usage rate structure for single family customers, and (3) a uniform water usage rate for multi-family, non-residential, and irrigation accounts. The bi-monthly service charges recovers fixed customer and capacity-related costs of service, and the water usage rates recover costs appropriately recovered on the basis of water usage. The three-tier water usage rate structure for single family homes reflect costs differences in the City’s water supplies (i.e., local groundwater and SCWA water), as well as an allocation of water conservation costs to the higher tiers of usage. The water usage rate for multi-family, non-residential, and irrigation accounts recovers usagebased costs uniformly over all water usage. Proposed water rate schedules are presented in the table below.
Proposed Water Rates 2
Current 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Bi-Monthly Service Charge
3/4" meter $47.63 $50.49 $53.52 $56.73 $60.13 $63.74
1" meter $77.87 $82.54 $87.49 $92.74 $98.30 $104.20
1 1/2" meter $152.77 $161.94 $171.66 $181.96 $192.88 $204.45 2" meter $243.01 $257.59 $273.05 $289.43 $306.80 $325.21 3" meter $453.71 $480.93 $509.79 $540.38 $572.80 $607.17 4" meter $754.66 $799.94 $847.94 $898.82 $952.75 $1,009.92 Water Usage Rates ($/TGAL)
Residential
Tier 1 (0 to 10 TGAL)1 $4.06 $4.30 $4.56 $4.83 $5.12 $5.43 Tier 2 (10 to 20 TGAL) $5.21 $5.52 $5.85 $6.20 $6.57 $6.96 Tier 3 (over 20 TGAL) $6.49 $6.88 $7.29 $7.73 $8.19 $8.68 Multi-Family, Non-Resid., & Irrigation
All Water Usage $4.51 $4.78 $5.07 $5.37 $5.69 $6.03
1 "TGAL" means thousand gallons
2 New rates implemented on the June 15th of the indicated year Page | 3
Proposed Sewer Rates
The proposed sewer rates retain the same rate structure as the current sewer rates, including: (1) fixed bimonthly service charge based on the size of the water meter, and (2) a uniform sewer usage rate for all customer accounts. The bi-monthly sewer service charges recover fixed customer and capacity-related costs of service, and the sewer usage rates recovers costs appropriately recovered on the basis of sewer flow. Proposed sewer rate schedules are presented in the table below.
Additional Information
Additional information on the proposed water and sewer rates, and the underlying financial and cost of service analyses, are available in the City of Cotati, Water and Sewer Rate Study – Final Report, prepared by Hildebrand Consulting, LLC., dated March 14, 2022 (2022 Rate Study). The report is available online at cotaticity.org.
How Much Will My Water and Sewer Bill Be?
While the water and sewer rates are increasing based on a simple percentage, actual changes to bills may be affected by changes in water usage. Bill changes for a typical customer over the five years of proposed rate adjustments are illustrated in the table below.
Proposed Sewer Rates 2
Current 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Bi-Monthly Service Charge
3/4" meter $82.23 $89.63 $97.70 $106.49 $116.07 $126.52 1" meter $135.45 $147.64 $160.93 $175.41 $191.20 $208.41 1 1/2" meter $267.36 $291.42 $317.65 $346.24 $377.40 $411.37 2" meter $426.26 $464.62 $506.44 $552.02 $601.70 $655.85 3" meter $797.31 $869.07 $947.29 $1,032.55 $1,125.48 $1,226.77 4" meter $1,327.26 $1,446.71 $1,576.91 $1,718.83 $1,873.52 $2,042.14 Sewer Usage Rates ($/TGAL) 1
All Customers $9.60 $10.46 $11.40 $12.43 $13.55 $14.77
2 New rates implemented on the June 15th of the indicated year 1 Residential customers without separate irrigation meters will be charged based on the lesser of the estimated actual use and the actual water usage. All other customers will have sewer service charges based on the metered water consumption from all sources except those sources that are not discharged to the city sewer as determined by the City Engineer.
Bi-Monthly Water and Sewer Bill for a Typical Single Family Customer 1 Current 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Water Bill $88.23 $93.49 $99.12 $105.03 $111.33 $118.04 Sewer Bill $139.83 $152.39 $166.10 $181.07 $197.37 $215.14 Total Bill $228.06 $245.88 $265.22 $286.10 $308.70 $333.18 Cost per Month $114.03 $122.94 $132.61 $143.05 $154.35 $166.59 1 Based on a 3/4" meter with 5,000 gal. of monthly water usage and 3,000 gal. of monthly sewage.
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If you would like assistance in determining how the proposed water and sewer rates may affect your utility bill, please contact a Customer Service Representative at (707) 792-4600 Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M
How Do I Protest?
Proposition 218 allows the owner of record of a parcel that receives water or sewer service to submit a written protest at or before the Public Hearing. A protest may be withdrawn before the close of the hearing as well, but only by the person who filed it.
If the person signing the protest is not listed as the owner on the last equalized assessment roll for Sonoma County, the protest must be accompanied by written evidence that the signer owns the property. In rental situations, if a tenant is the utility account holder for water or sewer service, the tenant also has the right to submit a written protest for the property. Only one protest per parcel will be counted. If valid protests are filed on behalf of a majority of the parcels that receive water or sewer service, the increased water or sewer rates, respectively, will not be adopted.
All protests must:
1. Be in writing with an original signature from the property owner of record or tenant directly liable for the payment of the fee/account holder.
2. Identify the parcel for which the protest is filed, by street address or Assessor’s Parcel Number (APN).
3. State that the signer opposes the proposed water and/or sewer rates.
4. Be received at City Hall at or before the close of the public hearing that will begin at 6:00 p.m. on June 14, 2022. A protest may be mailed to the City Clerk at 201 W. Sierra Avenue, Cotati, CA 94931 or delivered to the same address during regular business hours.
Email, fax, or telephone, and oral protests of any kind will not be counted. Mailed protests received after the close of the public hearing will not be counted, even if they were postmarked earlier.
If you have a disability and need assistance, please contact the City Clerk’s Office at (707) 792-4600 at least 72 hours prior to the meeting to ensure arrangements for accommodation by the City. Please make sure the City Clerk’s Office is notified as soon as possible is you have a visual impairment requiring meeting materials to be produced in another format (Braille, audio-tape, etc.).
If adopted, the new rates will be effective July 1, 2022. Under Government Code Section 53759(d), there is a 120-day statute of limitation for any challenge to the new, increased, or extended fee or charge.
Questions?
For more information or to ask questions, please call (707) 792-4600 Monday through Friday from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M or visit cotaticity.org.
Protest Form
To protest the proposed Water and Sewer Rate Increase, you may complete this Protest Form, detach it, and mail it to the City of Cotati City Clerk, 201 W. Sierra Avenue, Cotati, Ca. 94931 or hand deliver to the City Clerk’s office (same address as above). To be counted, the City Clerk must receive a mailed or written protest no later than 6:00 pm on June 14, 2022. Protests may be hand-delivered up until the end of the Public Hearing. Only one protest is allowed per property.
Parcel APN: _______________________
Parcel Address: __________________________________________________________________________ I protest the proposed Water rate increase to fund operation, maintenance and replacement costs related to providing Water service to properties within the City of Cotati Water Service Area.
I protest the proposed Sewer rate increase to fund operation, maintenance and replacement costs related to providing Sewer service to properties within the City of Cotati Sewer Service Area.
I hereby declare under penalty of perjury that I am the owner of the above listed property or the authorized representative of the owner of the above listed property.
Please sign here:________________________________________________________________________ Please print the property owner name here: __________________________________________________