City Set to Flush Recent Hike in Sewer Fees

Your sewer bill may be going down.

Just a month after the San Juan Capistrano City Council approved a planned hike to the water and sewer bills, councilmen are now set to reconsider the move, at least as it pertains to the sewer fees.

While the city’s water department has been struggling to get back into the black, the sewer portion is, well, flush.

Collected fees cover the costs, and the sewer fund is sitting on a reserve fund that is projected to be 71 percent of a year’s budget, or 2.2 million, by June 2014.

In June, the council raised sewer rates between 5.1 and 5.8 percent, depending on the type of user. Starting July 1, residential customers saw a 5.5 percent increase.

But now the city is looking to rescind the move.

“Due to the current level of contingency reserve and the healthy fund balance” of the sewer fund, staff supports nixing the recent hike, according to a staff report.

Reversing the hike does mean the city will have to dip into the reserves just a drip, leaving the reserves at $2.1 million by June 2014.

Water rates were raised 3 percent, starting July 1, but staff is not recommending a change there.

The City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 32400 Paseo Adelanto in San Juan Capistrano.