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Loma Linda approves wastewater rate ordinance amid questions about pass‑through increases
Summary
Council approved an ordinance establishing stepped wastewater collection rates effective July 9, 2026, after residents and council members pressed staff on affordability and the fact that much of the increase is a pass‑through from a regional treatment plant.
The Loma Linda City Council on June 9 adopted an ordinance to update wastewater collection rates, effective July 9, 2026, drawing sustained public comment and council questions about the size of the increase and how pass‑through costs from regional treatment facilities affect local customers.
City staff said the ordinance is a second reading of a rate schedule tied to the costs charged by the treatment provider outside the city. Staff explained that San Bernardino's sewage treatment capital work and borrowing have driven higher treatment charges that the city must pass through to customers. At the meeting staff and council used a cumulative five‑year figure cited in the record: a 34.7 percent increase at the end of the five‑year schedule.
A resident at the podium expressed confusion and concern about the jump in monthly bills, and council members discussed the alternatives: the general fund could temporarily cover increases but that would consume limited discretionary dollars. Staff estimated that if the city absorbed the increase for 5,500 accounts, the general fund impact could be on the order of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year (transcript discussion estimated roughly $600,000 annually by the five‑year projection). Council members asked whether alternative treatment options existed; staff said alternatives (such as sending flows to a different regional facility) had higher rates.
The council moved to adopt ordinance O‑20226‑6 to establish the new wastewater collection rates; the clerk recorded the motion as carried. Staff and councilors said they would continue outreach to clarify billing notices and the pass‑through nature of the increase for residents who do not read mailed notices.
What comes next: The new rates take effect July 9, 2026; staff will continue public communication to explain the pass‑through mechanism and the potential budgetary tradeoffs if the city were to subsidize rates from the general fund.
