BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — During Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Bakersfield residents urged councilmembers to reject a proposed sewer rate increase that would raise bills by more than $200 in the first year, followed by about $100 more each year over a four-year period.
REALTED: City council weighs sewer rate hikes for 2026-31 after scrapping 300% increase plan
Not one person spoke in favor of the proposal during public comment, with several speakers asking the city to consider alternatives.
“Working families like mine and like my neighbors deserve relief, not higher bills,” said Genevieve Egana, a Bakersfield resident and librarian at Beale Library.
Kern County is also protesting the proposal, according to Claire Collins, an attorney who specializes in water and environmental law and is representing the county.
“The county respectfully requests that the city consider spreading these costs over a longer period. It’s something we call generational equity,” Collins said.
Researchers say the money is needed now, especially the first-year increase to $475.
“The first-year rate is really to bring us out of the red. It is to truly provide the cost,” said Evette Roldan, assistant water director and wastewater manager for the City of Bakersfield.
Roldan said taxpayers have historically paid low rates for water maintenance, but that is no longer sustainable.
“We’ve been able to maintain, but we can no longer do that. We now need to raise the rate in order to right-side the rate, in order to truly recuperate the costs that it is costing the city to provide the service,” Roldan said.
Roldan said the city has been researching the proposal for the past 15 months.
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Another public hearing is set for May 13. The City Council is also scheduled to vote that day on whether to approve the proposed rate increase.