Council reviews concept for need‑based sewer bill assistance but takes no action pending further analysis

Administrative Services Director Barbara Martin updated the council on a possible needs‑based sewer rate assistance program the council had asked staff to evaluate. Martin said the city cannot use sewer service charge revenues (established through Proposition 218) to subsidize a subset of customers, so the assistance program would require alternative funding — the general fund, newly established delinquency fees, or voluntary donations.

Using the PG&E CARE program participation as a proxy, staff estimated that roughly 35 percent of residential customers could be eligible and that a 20 percent discounted sewer bill for that broad cohort could cost roughly $1.03M annually (including estimated participation rates) — excluding administrative costs. Martin flagged key design issues: whether to limit participation to property owners (easier to verify) or include renters (verification feasible but more administratively onerous), how to verify eligibility (tie to existing assistance programs versus city‑run application), and how to budget and advertise the program.

Councilmembers expressed sympathy for seniors and low‑income residents, questioned the program’s administrative burden and competing general fund demands, and preferred a narrower, targeted pilot or to hold the program in reserve pending actual rate impacts. Several members recommended returning to the item if the adopted rate path proves excessively burdensome to renters and low‑income residents. No formal action was taken tonight.