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Supervisors approve one-year rebate for Pajaro-area businesses after rate overhaul
Summary
The board authorized a one-time 50% rebate for nonresidential customers of the Pajaro County Sanitation District to soften large increases resulting from a recent Prop 218 rate restructuring; the county will fund the rebate from general-fund contingency.
The Board of Supervisors voted March 18 to use general-fund contingency to provide a one-time 50% rebate for nonresidential customers in the Pajaro County Sanitation District after a Prop 218 rate process adopted higher fees.
Public works staff said the district had not raised rates for roughly a decade and the Prop 218 update aligned customers to a standard methodology based on water use and a "high-strength" factor for businesses that return higher-strength wastewater. The change led to substantial increases for some businesses—staff said certain commercial customers saw step increases that, under the new methodology, could reach several-fold higher bills.
The board adopted a resolution directing the auditor-controller to transfer $217,514 from the general fund contingency to reimburse nonresidential customers for 50% of the new charges for the current billing cycle. "We looked at multiple options to provide…a way to help the businesses stay in business, ease them into the new rates," Randy Ishii, director of Public Works, Facilities and Parks, told the board.
Why it matters: Small, long-standing businesses in Pajaro and neighboring communities are frequently low-margin operations; supervisors argued sharp utility increases could threaten essential local services such as laundromats and markets. One public speaker said the laundromat’s new bill under the district’s methodology would be about $51,662 compared with roughly $20,000 under Watsonville rates.
Board discussion and next steps: Supervisors supported the rebate as an immediate, time-limited measure while staff promised to pursue longer-term adjustments to reduce future volatility through appeals, customer-specific review and, if necessary, a new Prop 218 study. Staff noted the district’s rates will be reviewed as part of annual budgeting and that the one-time rebate requirement will reduce county contingency by about $217,514.
Ending: The action passed on a 4/5 vote requirement for a budget-line transfer. Supervisors asked staff to notify affected customers of appeal rights and to engage directly with businesses that may have anomalous bills and to evaluate conservation and efficiency measures that could reduce future charges.
