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Roseville council introduces water rate assistance program to help low-income customers
Summary
Roseville’s City Council on Oct. 1 introduced an ordinance to create a Water Rate Assistance Program that will target fixed water charges for income-qualified households and use non-rate revenue to fund discounts.
On Oct. 1 the Roseville City Council voted to introduce for first reading an ordinance establishing a Water Rate Assistance Program (RAP) intended to reduce water-bill burdens for low-income households. Assistant Environmental Utilities Director Brian Craighead and Government Relations Administrator Noel Maddock presented program design, projected costs and enrollment mechanics.
Staff said RAP would target the fixed portion of water bills and use non-rate revenue (late fees) to comply with Proposition 218 requirements. Eligibility would be limited to households at or below 200% of the federal poverty level; customers already enrolled in the city’s electric rate assistance program would be auto-enrolled into RAP to reduce administrative barriers. Staff said the program would provide up to a 20% discount on the fixed monthly charge for qualifying households and that customers would be required to reaffirm eligibility every three years.
Craighead and Maddock described outreach plans and preliminary fiscal estimates. Staff said 994 customers currently enrolled in the electric program were expected to auto-enroll in RAP and that about 90 additional water-only customers would be targeted for outreach. The presentation included two different numerical references in the transcript for projected enrollment (staff said both that they expect at least 1,000 households to be served and also referenced “about 184 customers” in a passage that appears inconsistent); staff told council they budgeted roughly $123,000 in FY26—consistent with historical late-fee revenue—and estimated benefits of up to $84,000 in the first year with potential growth to about $106,000 by fiscal year 2030, depending on future rates.
Supporters on council noted the program would pilot affordability efforts for water and could be expanded later to wastewater or other services. The council received the Public Utilities Commission’s recommendation to approve implementation and voted unanimously to introduce the ordinance for first reading; the motion carried on roll call.
