Cerritos council approves water and sewer rate adjustments after heated public hearing

The Cerritos City Council on Jan. 26 approved staffrecommended adjustments to the city's water and sewer rates after a lengthy public hearing in which dozens of residents spoke and the city clerk reported 6,400 written protests.

The vote to adopt the staff recommendation (items 1, 2, 3A, 4 and 5 in the agenda report) passed on a recorded roll call after the clerk said the number of valid written protests was below the Proposition 218 majority-parcel thresholds. The Council recorded the final tally in the transcript as passing by a 4-0 vote with one abstention.

Why it matters: City staff said the increases are necessary to fund critical repairs and capital projects for an aging water system. Director of Public Works Alvin Papa told the Council the city has three active wells, one well (C4) out of service because of casing damage and PFOS contamination, and reservoirs and valves that are more than 50 years old. Staff identified about $25 million in the most-critical water capital projects and stressed that delaying work risks more frequent emergency repairs and much higher imported-water costs when wells are offline.

—————————————Direct costs and schedule: Papa said an emergency C4 repair already…