Montecito board moves forward on sewer rate study, sets Prop 218 hearing

The Montecito Sanitary District board voted April 8 to adopt a resolution of intent to set a public hearing under Proposition 218 to consider proposed sewer rate amendments and to begin the required notice and protest period.

President Rockenbach moved the resolution and Director Ullman seconded after staff and legal counsel reviewed the rate‑study packet, which includes the draft rate study, a hearing notice, a proposed resolution and a Prop 218 flowchart. Assistant General Counsel Taylor explained that adopting the resolution starts a 45‑day notice period, that only written property‑owner protests are counted under Prop 218, and that the district must mail notices and post the study online before the hearing. "Once the resolution is adopted, then staff will post the rate study online and mail notices," Taylor said during the presentation.

Board members pressed staff and the consultant on the study’s capital projects and timing. Director Barrett reviewed historical increases and requested confirmation that expiring debt service and project timing were properly reflected in the financial model. General Manager Andrew Weigel said staff and the managers who helped compile the work list were "very comfortable" with the analysis and that emergency funds and year‑to‑year budgeting were built into the plan. The board also heard from the district’s rate consultant on the trade‑offs of delaying action; staff warned that delaying the Prop 218 schedule could increase the initial required hike for ratepayers.

The board adopted the resolution by majority vote and directed staff to mail the Prop 218 notices to parcel owners and to publish the study online, starting the formal protest period. The resolution does not itself set final rates; it sets the notice and hearing process required to solicit written protests and, if a majority of property‑owners do not protest in writing, permits the board to adopt rates by resolution after the hearing.

The district announced the next procedural steps: staff will distribute the mailed notice consistent with the packet and the district’s ordinance governing Prop 218 procedures; the public hearing date will be posted in the mailed notice and on the district website. The board set the next regular meeting for April 22, 2026, at which follow‑up items will appear on the agenda.