Daly City expands pilot water-rate assistance to cover sewer and garbage bills

Daly City Council on June 24 voted to expand a pilot water-rate assistance program into a broader Utility Rate Assistance Program to provide financial relief for eligible low-income households’ water, sewer and solid-waste bills beginning July 1.

Director Tim Nevin said the pilot, started in August 2023, assisted 83 households and saved just over $1,200 on water bills. Under the expanded program, qualified applicants would receive billing at the pre-increase rate for their utility usage (the staff presentation used a bimonthly example for 12 units of water), effectively delaying a July 1 rate increase for eligible participants. Eligibility would be income-based, using thresholds tied to 50% of area median income for household sizes 1–8, and the program would operate on a fiscal-year basis with applicants required to reapply annually.

Neven/Nevin told the council the program will be administered by the Department of Water and Wastewater Resources and be contingent on available funds; staff said current funds set aside for the pilot are sufficient for rollout and will return to council if additional funding is required. Councilmembers praised the application form’s accessibility and asked staff to provide multi-lingual and web-based guidance and to coordinate links to county and utility assistance programs.

Mayor Jocelyn C Manalo, Councilmember Glenn Sylvester and others supported the expansion, stressing the modest per-bill savings can be meaningful to seniors and families on fixed incomes. Council adopted the resolution by unanimous roll call.