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Staff recommends full Prop 218 water and sewer rate increases for 2026
Summary
District staff told the board they will move forward with the full Prop 218 maximums for water and sewer rates in 2026 after comparing the 2026 budget to the 2024 rate study; staff said revenues are mostly on track but expenses and debt service pressures support the full increase.
District staff recommended that the board implement the full Prop 218 maximum rate increases for both water and sewer in 2026, saying the recommendation follows the district's 2024 rate study and is necessary to support large capital projects and reserve requirements.
“Staff's recommendation is that we implement the planned full rate increase in the water fund for 2026,” a staff presenter said, noting the 2024 rate study set maximum allowable rates for a five‑year period and that the current budget-to-rate‑study comparison supports the increase. The presenter added that water revenues are broadly on track but that expenses and debt service are slightly unfavorable to the study assumptions, strengthening the case for the full Prop 218 adjustment.
Management analyst Brent Balderson walked the board through the detailed rate slides, describing rate‑funded revenue calculations and showing the 2026 adjustments “adjusted to the Prop 218 maximum.” On a slide comparing neighboring agencies, staff said the district's proposed increases would place its rates “pretty well in ballpark of everyone else.”
Board members and staff emphasized the financing context: large planned water capital investments and the requirement to meet reserve and debt‑service coverage targets were cited repeatedly as drivers of the recommendation. No formal action was taken at the workshop; staff asked the board for direction to finalize schedules and to bring resolutions to the regular November board meetings for adoption.
