BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 The Bakersfield City Council approved a five-year sewer rate increase plan in a 5-2 vote, raising annual residential sewer costs beginning in fiscal year 2026-27 to help fund long-term infrastructure improvements.<\/p>\n
Under the approved plan, the annual sewer rate will increase to $475 in fiscal year 2026-27, or about $40 per month per household. The city says the increase is needed to support major wastewater infrastructure projects, including upgrades to treatment plants and improvements tied to future growth.<\/p>\n
Bakersfield City Councilmember Zack Bashirtash, who represents Ward 6, described the situation as the result of decades of deferred action.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn’t a 10-year-old problem\u2026 I don’t even think 20. I think probably 30 years ago, stuff should have started happening,\u201d Bashirtash said.<\/p>\n
Bashirtash said years of minimal increases left the city trying to catch up with aging infrastructure and growing system demands.<\/p>\n
Some residents and county leaders questioned whether alternative financing methods, including bonding, could have reduced the need for significant rate increases.<\/p>\n
Bashirtash argued the city was not financially positioned to rely heavily on that option.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to have capital saved up in order to bond out a project\u2026 we weren’t in a position to even bond out appropriately,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Still, the city\u2019s sewer rates report outlines a plan that could potentially include a future bond beginning in fiscal year 2031-32 to help fund improvements.<\/p>\n
The effects of the rate increase may also extend beyond Bakersfield city limits.<\/p>\n
About 600 residents in Kern County Community Service Area 71 rely on Bakersfield\u2019s sewer system, meaning their rates could also be affected by the city\u2019s increase.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo their rates are now connected to the city increases,\u201d Kern County Supervisor Jeff Flores, who represents District 3, said.<\/p>\n
County leaders say they are now evaluating possible next steps, including legal options, a localized Proposition 218 process or negotiations with the city.<\/p>\n
Flores said he strongly opposes spreading any additional costs across county residents who are not directly impacted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would vehemently oppose any effort to spread it across the countywide because people\u2026 they’re not even impacted,\u201d Flores said.<\/p>\n
If finalized through the remaining process, the new sewer rate is expected to take effect July 1.<\/p>\n
Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 The Bakersfield City Council approved a five-year sewer rate increase plan in a 5-2…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,155,153,152,162],"class_list":["post-336797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-downtown","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news","tag-kern-county-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}