The county’s lawsuit against the city of Bakersfield over sewer rates will continue to move forward after a Kern County Superior Court judge denied a request from the city to strike the county’s complaint.

In a brief court hearing Tuesday, Kern County Superior Court Judge Bernard Barmann Jr. said he “came out on the county side of things” and overruled the city’s demurrer and overruled its motion to strike the county’s complaint.

Speaking to The Californian following the hearing, Chief Assistant City Attorney Ashley Zambrano said a demurrer is a procedural step to test the sufficiency of the county’s claims.

It does not argue the merits and the court’s ruling does not make a decision on the merits, she said.

“Of course, the city would have liked to prevail and narrow the scope of these claims — that’s what a demurrer is attempting to do — but it’s not uncommon for a court to let all of the claims move forward in the interest of justice,” Zambrano said.

“Of course, the city is disappointed that we didn’t prevail, but nonetheless, the city will continue to defend itself and the decision making process of its elected officials.”

Kern County sued the city of Bakersfield following the city’s vote to increase its sewer rates in May, alleging the study used to set the new rates improperly included stormwater costs as part of the wastewater system.

The city increased its sewer rates earlier this year in an effort to raise funds for a major overhaul and expansion of the system.

City officials have said years of lower-than-average rates have led to a build-up of deferred maintenance issues and that the city’s growth and new state regulations will require significant upgrades expected to cost roughly $1.3 billion.

The city rates increased from $247 annually to $475 in the first year with $100 annual increases for the next four years.

In a ruling last month, Barmann denied a request from the county to put a pause on the increase, saying the city would suffer irreparable harm from having to freeze a certain portion of its revenue for an undetermined amount of time.