City Council
259 N. Wilma Avenue
Ripon, CA 95366
MEMO
To: Honorable City Council
From: Kevin Werner, City Administrator
Date: 01/13/2026
Subject: Water, Sewer and Garbage Rates for 2026-2030
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Pursuant to Resolution 25-36, if there is found to be a majority protest, the City shall not impose the fee or charge. In the event a majority protest is not present, the proposed water, sewer and garbage rates will be approved for a five-year period beginning February 1, 2026.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Ripon has three enterprise funds - water, sewer and garbage. Enterprise funds are operated by the City as a separate financial and legal entities. The revenue collected from rates must adequately fund the water, sewer, and garbage operations, maintenance, capital replacement, and compliance with existing and new State of California regulations.
The City evaluates utility rates every five years to ensure sufficient revenue is being collected from utility customers. The last utility rate increase was approved in January 2021 with annual rate increases to be implemented February 2021 – 2025. The approved rate increases do not automatically go into effect each year. The Ripon City Council has directed staff to prepare an annual report that summarizes the financials of each Enterprise Fund prior to the approved rates being implemented to determine if the full rate increase is necessary.
The City of Ripon contracted with an independent expert to conduct a comprehensive rate study for the water, sewer, and garbage funds for the rate study period of 2026-2030. A detailed report has been prepared that evaluates the expenses over the next five years to operate and maintain the water, sewer, and garbage utilities at the current service levels, meet State of California regulatory requirements, and complete necessary capital replacement of equipment that has exceeded its useful life.
The City Council held a workshop on October 30, 2025 to review the recommendations from this analysis. Based on the discussion and direction from the City Council, the Water, Sewer, and Garbage Funds Rates Study report has been updated (see attached) and summarized below.
Proposed Water Rate Increases - The proposed water rate increase of 4 percent over the next 5 years is necessary to continue to provide the current service levels along with operating and maintaining new well head treatment systems at two groundwater wells.
Proposed Sewer Rate Increases - The proposed sewer rate increase of 3 percent over the next 5 years is necessary to continue to maintain current service levels while also transferring the funds necessary to fund a significant upgrade of the wastewater treatment plant when the 1994 Wastewater Discharge Regulatory Permit limits are updated to present-day State mandated treatment standards.
Proposed Garbage Rate Increases - As a result of the unanticipated expenses associated with complying with State of California regulatory mandates during the previous rate study period of 2020-2025, the garbage operating fund balance has dropped below the target balance. This could impact service levels if an unplanned expense (e.g., garbage truck damaged to the extent it no longer can be used, etc.) arises and the funds are not available.
The proposed garbage rate increase of 20 percent in year 1 and 4 percent over the remaining years of the rate study period is necessary to maintain current service levels while also restoring the target balance of the garbage operating fund to have funds available if an unplanned emergency expense arises. The increase will also allow the City to continue to comply with State of California unfunded mandates while transferring the funds necessary to replace capital that has exceeded its’ useful life.
Combined Impact of Recommended Rate Increases - The combined impact upon a typical residential customer is summarized in the table and figure below. The impact on the monthly bill is for a residential customer with a 1-inch water meter and 16 hundred cubic feet per month water use, a sewer connection and residential curbside 1 black + 1 green service.
Prior Recommended
Monthly Bill FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29 FY30
Water $52.60 $54.64 $56.94 $59.24 $61.64 $64.04
Sewer $26.20 $27.00 $27.80 $28.60 $29.50 $30.40
Garbage $44.30 $53.15 $55.25 $57.45 $59.75 $62.15
Total $123.10 $134.79 $139.99 $145.29 $150.89 $156.59
Monthly $ ∆ FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29 FY30
Water $1.02 $2.04 $2.30 $2.30 $2.40 $2.40
Sewer $1.00 $0.80 $0.80 $0.80 $0.90 $0.90
Garbage $1.70 $8.85 $2.10 $2.20 $2.30 $2.40
Total $3.72 $11.69 $5.20 $5.30 $5.60 $5.70
Monthly % ∆ FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29 FY30
Water 2% 4% 4% 4% 4% 4%
Sewer 4% 3% 3% 3% 3% 3%
Garbage 4% 20% 4% 4% 4% 4%
Total 3.1% 9.5% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 4.0%
$53 $55 $57 $59 $62 $64
$26 $27 $28 $29 $30 $30
$44
$53 $55 $57 $60 $62
$123
$135 $140 $145 $151 $157
$0
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
$120
$140
$160
$180
$200
FY25 FY26 FY27 FY28 FY29 FY30
Garbage Sewer Water
Comparison of Ripon’s Utility Rates to Other Cities - Current and projected February 2026 residential customer bills for Ripon were compared to those in other nearby cities based on a customer with a 1-inch water meter and 16 hundred cubic feet of monthly water use, a sewer connection, and residential curbside garbage service of 1-black + 1-green cans are shown in the figure below.
Ripon’s proposed utility rate is 11% lower than the average of the Cities surveyed.
DISCUSSION:
On November 10, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution 25-36 in accordance with Proposition 218 to increase water, sewer, and garbage utility rates from February 1, 2026 to 2030, which included:
Setting a public hearing for January 13, 2026 to consider protests opposing the proposed water, sewer, and garbage utility rate increases.
Providing written notice to property owners by mail of the proposed water, sewer, and garbage rates.
In the event that a majority protest does not exist, the proposed water, sewer and garbage rates would be approved for a five-year period beginning February 1, 2026.
A majority protest is defined as 50% +1 protest ballots, collected from each existing parcel that has at least one utility service. The City Clerk will add the protest ballots from each parcel during the public hearing and verify if they add up to the majority protest, which would be 2,697 ballots.
In the event that a majority protest does not exist, the proposed water, sewer and garbage utility rate increases would be approved.
Attachments:
1. Utility Rate Study_2025