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SLO council approves another water and sewer rate increase

June 19, 2019

As it has done repeatedly in recent years, the San Luis Obispo City Council on Tuesday approved water and sewer rate hikes. [Cal Coast Times]

The council unanimously approved a 5.5 percent water rate hike for this year, followed by another 5.5 percent increase next year. Monthly water bills for the average single-family home will increase from $56.98 to $60.09 next month and to $63.39 in July 2020, according to a city staff report.

Sewer rates will rise by 5.5 percent next month, followed by a 5 percent increase next year. The average monthly sewer bill will increase from $50.09 to $52.84 next month and to $55.47 in July 2020, according to the staff report.

A ratepayer protest allowed by state law did not come close to upending the rate hikes.


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Question for those who study better than some of us: Does SLO transfer water/sewer “profits” (collections exceeding O&M&C costs) from water enterprise revenues to it’s general fund? LA City DWP has done that for years because it’s a nifty way to tax the public. The bloated city budget here, doubling as it did, could squander, oops I mean USE, the revenue.


Also could we call them “tract” houses instead of “track” houses in our comments below? I realize liberal commenters have difficulty with, and disinterest in, facts, but at least let’s please get the common nomenclature right?


4

With your leader, Trump The Pervert, now chasing 10,000 lies since he’s been in office, and with the Party of Trump The Pervert swallowin’ every friggin’ one of them, I’d say the “conservatives” are the ones havin’ trouble with the facts (both givin’ them and accepting them)? Don’t ya think?


-1

When you pay your water bill, the money goes directly to the finance department and they divvy it up how they want. The amount you pay, has nothing to do with the “cost” of supplying water. So your suggestion that the bloated budget could “use” the money – they always have. When they raise the water rates, it has nothing to do with water. It has to do with the bloat. Remember when they raised the rates because of the “drought”? Hog wash!

I used to work there so I know what goes on and it’s not pretty. When you see one cockroach, there are hundreds hiding in the dark.


5

California and San Luis Obispo needs a Trump….at what point do the voters stop and say maybe this isn’t working?….maybe a swing to the right is needed….


19

I wonder if you could articulate what you say “isn’t working” in SLO. As far as I know, things seem to be running quite efficiently. Downtown looks good, lots of shopping, lots of shoppers; excellent university often rated quite high nationally; thriving tourist trade, etc.


So what is the grievance? Home prices too high? Taxes too high? Sorry, but I doubt any of that would change under the “right.” We already have a majority right wing Board of Supervisors. What are their solutions?


And don’t get me started on Trump. What is his plan? Listened to his rally speech last night. I thought it was 2016 and he was running against Clinton again. Not even a whiff of new policies, just same old blather.


-23

We already have more than enough lies, corruption, nepotism and tax&spend for everyone. But you want more tariffs(taxes) and higher gas prices? Perhaps a wall blocking Santa Maria to stimulate the economy?


-14

Ram’ ol’ man..

Maybe you could get Roy Moore to run for office out of SLO (after he loses his current bid for office in Alabama). He’d fit your current version of a member the “swingin’ right”, right? Lier and a pervert, but at least he’s white, right?


-1

Obscene. As a Council that purports to be striving for “affordability” in SLO, they vote unanimously to make SLO less affordable. 10% rate hikes in 2 years? Sheeesh!


We have a drought, the rates go up. We get out of a drought, they go up again. These rate hikes and their soon-to-be-proposed sales tax hikes are all about chasing the City’s $160,000,000 public pension debt.


San Luis Obispo is losing its soul.


32

I’m sorry, but since when has SLO been “affordable” and to whom? While you’re at it please explain what “affordable” means to you and how that translates into real world “affordability”. You’re talking about a $5.38 increase over two years and you bitch? Get a grip, all of you! You want that little bit of Eden all to yourselves, then you should pay for the privilege, out your frickin’ noses!

Here, let me respond in like manner as when I posted I couldn’t afford to live in my city/county of birth here on CCN… TOO BAD! Move somewhere where you can afford it!

Bitch, bitch, bitch! It’s “righty” thing…


-20

Agreed, especially investors whom have mad massive returns here if they bought houses in the 80s. But hey, local conservative councils built track housing garbage everywhere, inflated the market, and now we pay the price to cope with infrastructure. Then wealthy people complain? From what I understand, having infrastructure increases value of peoperty!?!


-11

Speaking of Kelly Gearhart; our local “conservative man of the year”. Stating facts here. He built oodles of track houses and miiiiiles of new roads for us victims to now pay. Thank goodness Eagle Rach fell through, and Walmart. We would have been on the hook for all that “infrastructure”.


-5

Well to respond to your personally, thank goodness slo co didn’t get another aggregate pit the size of the Empire State Building unessecarily dug for “money” reasons, and money alone, Keith.


-3

And I would not be surprised if you have some kind of small state related pension Keith, no? And yes, Pennies from heaven pensions are out of control, but infrastructure is expensive.


-4

When was the last time wages went up 5%? 1960’s?


25

Public sector… all the time plus Christmas bonuses, double dipping, pension spiking, and abuse of vacation and sick time…… all while the taxpayers pay and pay and pay.


20

Actung SLO City citizen! Those pensions aren’t going to get paid by themselves so pony up!


29

It’s time to wake up. We need to vote, vote to remove all the left wing nuts from office. California under democratic rule has become less than a third world country. We have a homeless crisis that is not being addressed, a tax system that is punishing, and a system that honors those here illegally as opposed to Americans.


The state collected $12.5 billion more than they required to fund their inflated budget. After that the state legislature passed an eighty cent tax on phones and the new gas tax will go into effect July 1. What, under the current government that California has will preclude the legislative body from passing laws which require all Californians from paying 110% of their income?


30

Well, afraid to inform you that right wing nuts raise taxes too.


https://calbudgetcenter.org/blog/the-largest-tax-state-increase-in-history/


-11

Taxes are not the only issue albeit a major one, homelessness is ignored, legislation is passed that favors illegal immigrants over American citizens and the list goes on.


The word “free” needs to be eliminated from our vocabulary. Nothing is free, someone has to pay and I, for one, do not agree to pay for someone else’s education, medical care, or anything else when I pay for my own based upon hard work on my part.


10

If inflation is 1.5%, why a 5.5% increase? Manager’s $$$?


28