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Residents urge independent review of wastewater plan and question Willdan report used for proposed rate increases
Summary
Speakers at the Crescent City council meeting pressed the city to update wastewater planning assumptions and to disclose the data behind a Willdan Group report underlying a proposed sewer rate increase, with petitions and legal concerns raised under Prop 218.
Naomi Pena, a Crescent City resident, told the council that recent population and building data show growth the wastewater treatment plant’s current basis of design does not account for and urged the city to prepare revised capacity projections and cost estimates.
"Does it make sense to invest another 50 to $80,000,000 and more in the current plant?" Pena asked, urging population projections for the city, the sewer district and the visitor season that reflect the last two years of growth.
Why it matters: Pena and other public commenters said the city could be committing to large capital expenditures without a clear, current justification. Donna Westfall presented petitions opposing the sewer and water rate increases and told the council she is approaching 900 signatures. Westfall said the new Prop 218 legal standards require the water-sewer provider to justify that fee increases are limited to actual cost of service and supported by an independent study.
"The Willdan report provided for the rate increase over 15 years ago presented a patently fraudulent basis for the expansion component," Westfall said, and she alleged that documents supporting the 2007 Willdan assumptions were destroyed when residents sought copies. Westfall said she has a public records request pending to obtain documentation of what city officials provided Willdan.
What the council heard: Commenters asked that the city commission or staff publish the specific input data Willdan used and consider postponing any rate action until an independent study confirms the need and the cost. Another public commenter urged postponement given the potential legal exposure.
What the record shows and what remains unresolved: Council members did not take action on the rate proposal during the meeting; speakers asked for transparent, independent justification and for clear cost estimates if a capacity increase proves necessary within the planning period. The transcript records petitions delivered to staff and a formal public-records request but does not record any staff response with target dates for producing the requested Willdan materials.
Next steps: The council’s schedule includes a budget workshop later this week where the city will review constrained discretionary funding; the wastewater treatment plant planning and the legal issues surrounding the rate increase were not resolved at the meeting and remain under public scrutiny.
