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Long Beach officials defend water and sewer rate increases as residents push back
Summary
City Manager Dan Creighton told the council that deferred maintenance and a depleted water fund forced rate increases; residents said bills are unaffordable and asked for clearer explanations and individual bill reviews.
City Manager Dan Creighton told the Long Beach City Council on Oct. 21 that the city’s water and sewer rates had to rise because the dedicated water fund was sharply reduced and the system had been running at an unsustainable deficit. “The water fund balance was decimated from a high in 2021 of almost 1,900,000 to a paltry $355,000,” Creighton said, and the plant previously “operated at a deficit of $1,200,000.”
Creighton said bills are issued quarterly and combine water and sewer charges measured by the same meter. He said water and sewer funds are restricted to their respective operations and cannot be used to cover general fund costs, and he listed deferred capital needs — filter replacements, water…
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