Resident urges $5 million sewer‑bill relief; staff cites Sacramento example and limited local analysis

During public comment at the May 18 budget workshop, Eric Orellana of the Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability urged the council to create a low‑income rate assistance program to shield residents from rising sewer and water costs.

"All across this city, residents are stretched thin by rising costs across the board," Orellana said, calling on the council to "establish a low income rate assistance program." He referenced prior staff conversations and said he heard both $1,000,000 and $5,000,000 cited as possible program funding levels.

Council member Arias asked Orellana how the $5 million figure was derived. Orellana replied it had been cited by staff in earlier presentations and that $5 million could provide a couple of hundred dollars annually to participating customers. City staff (Christian Clegg) added that the City of Sacramento runs a roughly $5.5 million annual program and that, for Bakersfield, preliminary staff estimates suggested roughly 25,000 potential eligible customers (about one in four water/sewer customers) depending on eligibility tiers.

Staff cautioned they had not performed a detailed local analysis of enrollment and impacts and said a program design would require further study and policy choices on eligibility and benefit tiers.

Why this matters: any low‑income assistance program affects ratepayer equity and municipal finances. Staff and council will need to weigh program scope, likely enrollment, funding source(s) and whether such assistance would be one‑time or ongoing before committing dollars in the June budget process.