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Rohnert Park council adopts updated meeting protocols and AB 2257 rate‑setting procedures
Summary
Council approved revised meeting protocols (including a Jan. 1, 2026 start time change) and adopted optional AB 2257 'exhaustion' procedures for water/sewer rates under Prop. 218, aiming to require early written objections and provide formal city responses.
At its Aug. 26 meeting the Rohnert Park City Council adopted a set of updated council meeting protocols and a new utility rate‑setting procedure that incorporates the AB 2257 written‑objection process for Proposition 218 hearings.
The updated protocols revise order‑of‑business rules, extend presentation time to 20 minutes, clarify agendaization and proclamation processes, add rules for speaker conduct and delegation of the council‑chamber scheduling to the city manager, and retain a council direction to set regular meeting start times to 5:30 p.m. effective Jan. 1, 2026. City Clerk Sylvia Lopez reviewed the changes, and the council voted 5‑0 to adopt the resolutions.
Separately, Finance Director Betsy House outlined how Proposition 218 requires that property‑related fees (including water and sewer) be proportional to the cost of providing the service and that property owners have a right to protest. House explained AB 2257’s optional 'exhaustion' procedure, which permits jurisdictions to require written objections during a specified period (not less than 45 days after notice) and obligates the city to respond in writing before a final public hearing; adopting the procedure limits later legal challenges by requiring that complainants first submit timely written objections. The council adopted the new rate‑setting procedures and repealed the 2011 process by resolution, 5‑0.
Both votes were unanimous; staff said the changes are intended to improve public participation and reduce the risk of late litigation challenges.
