Mariposa supervisors order town halls after Bartle Wells study warns small districts face steep water and sewer hikes

The Mariposa County Board of Supervisors directed staff to hold community meetings after hearing a presentation on April 21 showing that county‑operated utility districts face growing operating deficits and large potential rate increases.

At a presentation by consulting firm Bartle Wells Associates, vice president Michael DeGroot said decades without sufficient rate increases and roughly $5.1 million in deferred capital needs created a structural shortfall. The consultant presented two primary scenarios: a debt‑service approach that phases in full cost recovery over five years and a loan‑forgiveness scenario that would reduce customer impacts in the near term but require a different funding approach for outstanding county loans.

Under the consultant’s examples, combined monthly bills for a typical Yosemite West account (4,000 gallons) would climb from about $82.45 today to roughly $154.59 in year 1 of the debt‑service scenario and continue rising in subsequent years; in Coulterville and Lake Don Pedro the consultant projected even larger proportional increases because of very small customer bases. Bartle Wells emphasized that California’s Proposition 218 process requires mailed notices and a 45‑day protest period before any increases may be adopted and that majority protests are more likely in districts with few active accounts.

Residents from Yosemite West, Lake Don Pedro, Coulterville and Mariposa Pines filled the boardroom and the phone lines to describe the proposed increases as unaffordable for many fixed‑income households. Speakers asked staff to recheck revenue assumptions and fund balances, to include possible property‑tax allocations and other revenues, and to re‑examine capital and operating expense assumptions. A former district advisory committee member said the consultant had undercounted several revenue sources, including accrued fund balances and certain renewal and extension funds.

County Administrative Officer Joe Lynch told the board that general‑fund support to the three most troubled districts has reached roughly $1.2 million to date and is projected to grow. Public Works Director Shannon Hansen said the county cannot responsibly continue current levels of subsidization and that the study was presented to seek the board’s direction on the county’s preferred long‑term approach.

Supervisors representing the affected districts urged pauses before mailing any Proposition 218 notices. Supervisor Poe and Supervisor Smolcomb asked staff to hold town halls in Lake Don Pedro, Coulterville, Yosemite West and Mariposa Pines so residents could review the numbers and propose alternatives. Both the county and the consultant said grant and loan programs exist but generally require demonstrating two years of stable operations to qualify — a Catch‑22 in districts already operating at deficits.

County counsel reviewed legal options for loan forgiveness and said a board action under Government Code provisions (including findings of economic hardship and a supermajority vote) can be used to waive internal loans without creating an unconstitutional gift of public funds, but such a step would require specific factual findings.

The board did not start the Proposition 218 notice process at the meeting. Instead it asked Public Works, the consultant and county administration to: refine the study inputs, explore alternative delivery or funding approaches, hold a first round of community meetings within about 30 days and return with a plan for next steps.

What’s next: Public Works said it will prepare materials and meet in the affected communities; staff indicated the earliest formal Prop 218 mailing would follow public engagement and further board direction.