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Consultant outlines sewer, water rate study; flags AB2257 objection-and-response process
Summary
Consultant Mark said the sewer and water rate study will aim for inflationary adjustments but capital spending choices affect final rates; he described AB2257 as requiring solicitation and responses to objections during the Prop 218 process and said failure to object within the window limits later legal challenges.
The Cloverdale City Council Administrative Subcommittee heard details about an upcoming sewer and water rate study and a change in the public-notice process that affects legal challenges to rates.
Mark, the consultant retained for the study, said the firm will try to limit increases to inflationary adjustments but that capital spending decisions can push rates higher. "We'll do everything we can to limit it to that," he said, while warning that returning to address past shortfalls may require larger adjustments if the capital plan remains unchanged.
He described a recently enacted requirement the meeting referenced as "AB2257": during the 45‑day Prop 218 public-comment/objection period the city must solicit objections and respond to them; the consultant summarized the effect as a protection for the city so that residents who do not submit objections during the period have limited ability to sue later. "It's sort of a speak now or forever hold your peace, sort of law," he said. The consultant said his scope includes supporting legal counsel but noted that formal legal letters responding to substantive objections must come from the city's attorney.
Council members requested the consultant and legal counsel prepare written explanations and trend analyses to address public questions about recent meter replacements that raised some customers' bills. The consultant said he would examine trends of water usage versus revenue to assess whether meter changes account for the increases.
Next steps: the study timeline includes a public hearing in May and a target completion date around July 1; staff will prepare notices consistent with the Prop 218/AB2257 process and respond to objections during the comment period.
