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National City council adopts sewer service charges after public hearing
Summary
Council adopted an ordinance establishing sewer service charges that staff said will average about a 3% annual increase over five years; consultant Carmen Kastner and Assistant Director Martha Juarez answered resident questions before unanimous approval.
National City’s City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance at the second reading to establish revised sewer service charges after a public hearing and technical presentation.
Assistant Director of Engineering and Public Works Martha Juarez told the council the city began the sewer-rate study in March and followed the required public-hearing process, noting staff mailed notices and received a small number of official protests. Consultant Carmen Kastner explained the methodologies the city considered — flow-based, flat-rate, and combination approaches — and recommended the combination approach the study used as the most defensible and equitable given the city’s meter and billing systems. "Our recommendation is still to move forward with adopting the ordinance that establishes those sewer service rates, which again represent about a 3% increase per year, for the next 5 years," Kastner said.
Council members asked for and received additional detail about comparisons with neighboring agencies and how accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and multifamily properties were treated in the study. Councilmember Munoz moved adoption "as detailed in the staff report," and the council voted unanimously to approve the rates.
The ordinance replaces prior rate schedules and places the charge on the tax roll in the manner described by the staff report. Juarez and the consultant said the approach is intended to cover operations, maintenance and capital needs while remaining comparable to regional peers. The council gave unanimous approval and closed the public hearing before the vote.
The council’s action now sets the new rate schedule for fiscal years covered by the ordinance; staff said they will implement the billing changes and continue to provide updates if questions arise.
