The City Of Long Beach Is About To Increase Your Water Bill By 9%

THE CITY OF LONG BEACH IS ABOUT TO INCREASE YOUR WATER BILL BY 9 PERCENT IN 2024! RENTERS, THERE IS A LEGITIMATE PROTEST ARGUMENT YOU CAN MAKE AGAINST THIS INCREASE BUT YOU'VE GOT TO MAKE IT BY AUGUST 29th.

Below is a cut and paste of the City of Long Beach announcement from July 2023 about the August 29th public hearing meeting on the proposed 9% water bill increase. You can attend the meeting on August 29th at 7pm OR you can EMAIL watercommission@lbwater.org
by August 29th with your protest letter.

AS A RENTER I AM ARGUING THAT THE WATER RATE INCREASE IS UNFAIR UNLESS IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A CRACK DOWN ON PROPERTY OWNERS THAT CAUSE TENANTS TO WASTE WATER FOR WHICH TENANTS ARE PAYING. RENTERS, MANY OF YOU TOO COULD ALSO MAKE THIS ARGUMENT. BELOW IS A CUT AND PASTE OF MY LETTER TO THE WATER COMMISSIONERS.

I am not supporting a water bill increase unless it is accompanied by a crack down on property owners who cause their tenants to waste water for which the tenants are paying!

Dear Water Commissioners,

I understand the need for improvements to the City of Long Beach water infrastructure. I am no Grover Norquist shill complaining that every tax or fee increase is for waste, fraud or abuse. That said, there is no way in hell I am going NOT protest the City of Long Beach Water Department increasing water bills when the City takes NO action on property owners who force tenants to waste water by not properly maintaining their rental units. I have an entire, well documented, story about this that I want you to read at the Google Docs link below.

The first piece of documentation is a series of videos I have collected of me standing at faucets inside my rental unit at Elevate Long Beach Apartments. I am holding a laser thermometer and pointing it at the water coming out of the faucet. The faucet is turned all the way to hot. I am waiting sometimes over 4 minutes and 30 seconds for the water to reach 105 degrees. Sometimes it never does. I am PAYING for the water that is going down the drain while I wait for the water to get hot. Yet when I asked the HEAD of the Long Beach Water Department, Chris Garner, about this (see documentation in my story about my communication with him) I was told that this is NOT considered water waste by the City of Long Beach and that there is nothing that could be done in the municipal regulatory environment to bring pressure on the property owner to fix this. So I, as a tenant, am forced to waste water but the City of Long Beach is going to increase my bill while NOT forcing the property owner to address the hot water issue that is causing me to waste water - Oh HELL no. Of COURSE I am going to protest the increase in the bill! Below is a link to the videos about which I am speaking. In them you will hear me ask my smart speaker the date and time to document when the video was filmed.

https://bit.ly/HotWaterTakingT...

Please read my story (and the accompanying documentation) at the Google Doc link below.

https://bit.ly/WaterBillIncrea...

The Long Beach Board of Utilities Commissioners will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, to hear and receive all public testimony and protests of a proposed 9 percent increase to the city’s water rates.

The hearing will be held at 7 p.m. at the Long Beach Utilities Department headquarters at 1800 E. Wardlow Road.

All account owners and members of the public are invited to attend the public hearing.

Public hearing: Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, at 7 p.m. at Long Beach Utilities Department, 1800 E. Wardlow Road, Long Beach, CA 90807

At the close of the public hearing, the Board may adopt the new rates if protests against the proposed increase are not presented by a majority of water account owners. The new rates would go into effect on Oct. 1, 2023.

Account holders can also submit a protest by mail to the address below, or by email to watercommission@lbwater.org
.

Mail written protest to:

Long Beach Board of Utilities Commissioners

Attn: Executive Assistant to the Board

1800 E. Wardlow Road

Long Beach, CA 90807

All protests must be received by the close of the public hearing on Aug. 29, 2023.

The Board of Utilities Commissioners approved the Fiscal Year 2024 budget and the 9 percent water rate increase on June 26. The increase would amount to about $5 a month for the average Long Beach residential customer.

Sewer and natural gas rates will not increase in 2024.

There were no increases to water, sewer or gas rates in the 2023 fiscal year — the Board approved a water rate reduction of 2.5 percent.

For more information on the budget, visit lbwater.org/budget
.