Willows council adopts new sewer rate structure but delays single-family increase after 360 protests

The Willows City Council on July 14 approved a five-year sewer rate package that keeps the city on a path to finance roughly $7.8 million in capital sewer improvements, but the council altered the consultant’s mailed maximum rates to delay the proposed single-family residential increase for one year.

City staff and consultants presented the Proposition 218 rate study during a packed public hearing. "Any increase in utility rates has a real impact on residents and business," city staff contact Joe Bettencourt said at the hearing, noting the study funds sewer operations, reserves and capital projects including $412,000 for Yolo Street sewer main improvements and larger replacement projects identified by CCTV inspections. Consultant Sophia Mills of L and T Municipal Consultants estimated the study would allow the city to complete the next five years of planned projects without large emergency repairs.

The city received 360 written protest letters by the deadline, and dozens of residents spoke at the hearing with concerns ranging from affordability to whether the city had exhausted grant options. "Approving these rates without exhausting available funding is arbitrary," resident John Lowe told the council, asking the city to disclose applications and denials for state and federal grants before finalizing rates.

Council members debated whether to delay the decision to seek additional grant information and to await further technical assessments (chiefly whether a pond lining project would be required). Vice Mayor Thomas urged adoption, saying the city faces aging clay mains and inflow problems that can double flows during rain events. Council member Hanson supported approval, noting that recent rate increases funded rehabilitation of lift stations and pipe replacements and that the proposed first-year residential increase was modest—about $0.89 per month.

After discussion the council adopted a modified motion: it approved the new rate structure for multifamily and commercial customers while holding the single-family residential charge at the current $74.24 per month for one year; staff and council will revisit the single-family increase during the next budget cycle. The measure passed by roll call vote 4–0 on the motion as amended.

Under the new structure, the city will continue to collect a fixed component that covers customer-service costs (about $40 of the typical bill) and add volumetric/strength-based allocations for commercial accounts. Mills told the council that the study reflects the capital-improvement plan and the city’s adopted budget; the rates mailed in the Proposition 218 notice are the legal maximums the city can adopt over the five-year period, she said.

Bettencourt and the consultant said staff will continue to pursue grants and state revolving-fund opportunities that could reduce future rate burdens. Council members agreed that any future grant funding would be returned to the council for possible rate reductions.

What happens next: Staff will publish the final rate schedule and implement the billing changes per the council’s direction; the single-family charge will remain at the current level for one year unless the council acts earlier in a future budget cycle.