Also, postpones Amtrak Station improvements, Grand Jury report noncompliance letter response

By Allen D. Payton

During their meeting on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, the Antioch City Council could not get three votes to approve water rates for the coming year. With District 2 Councilman Mike Barbanica absent due to a family medical emergency, the remaining four members split 2-1-1 on the motion to increase rates and continue the current tiered rate structure. The structure means those residential customers who use more water pay a higher per gallon rate, effectively subsidizing the rates for those who use less water each month. Following the vote, during one of his final meetings on the council, Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe acted like Pontius Pilate and washed his hands of it saying, “If the new council wants to take this up, they can take it up.”

In addition, the council postponed both the discussion on the Amtrak Station improvements as well as responding to the Grand Jury report noncompliance letter.

During public comments on the item #8 on the agenda, in which the council considered accepting the Water Utility Cash Flow Evaluation and Rates Study from Pavletic Consulting LLC dated August 2024, approving the Water Rate Schedule effective January 1, 2025, and amending the Master Fee Schedule to include the updated water rates, the few residents who spoke opposed the proposed rate increases, as well as the current tiered rate structure. If adopted, every rate across the board would increase each year through 2029.

“I hope you’ll hear me. I hope you’ll do something. Please, help,” said a woman who is a retiree living in a condo on a pension.

“We have a free water supply. We get to draw off the San Joaquin River. No one charges us for that. But then it goes through your meters,” a man said. “In the past few months I’ve seen an excessive amount. To have anything more…where it keeps going up 35, 50 cents a year. I’m a retired individual…for about 12 or 15 years. So, I don’t see my wages going up. It ain’t cutting it for us. Why should we have to sit there and put ourselves out to the point that we’re going to have to be giving up our vehicles…and other parts of our life because you’re putting us out.”

District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock asked for an explanation of tiers and the pre-1914 water rights. Based on the questions people asked earlier. People think we’re pulling water out of the river. Can you just explain why it happens that way?”

Acting Public Works Director Scott Buenting said, “Antioch has pre-1914 rights to the river…among the best in the state. But there are other things like permits and agencies that restrict how much water you can get at one time. However, there is electricity to pump it out of the river, there are facilities…chemicals and staff. There is plenty of costs to get it treated and to the tap.

“Rates are based on costs for service. We don’t make money off of it. The formula that goes into this proposal is for the cost of service,” Hernandez-Thorpe explained.

“I believe it was in 2015…that the council wanted a tiered rate,” said the consultant. “There’s virtually no city enterprise or special district, you cannot find an entity without tiered rates anymore. Except for Fresno. They’re the largest city with a uniform rate.”

“You’re the lowest by far. The only people in the state, there might be a handful in the Central Valley pumping the groundwater. That’s being taken away from them,” he continued. “The budget dictates the rate study.”

“What would happen if we just went to one tier?” Ogorchock asked.

“Revenue neutral. What happens is the rate goes up for lower-end users, from say, zero to 11 units. Everyone above that, their bills would go down,” the consultant explained. “That’s the general shift you would see. The folks at the low end, especially senior citizens…a uniform rate their bill would go up. The uniform rate is higher than the Tier 1 rate.”

“I didn’t know we had senior rates,” Ogorchock stated.

“I’m not aware there are senior rates. The City isn’t subsidizing rates,” Buenting stated.

Asked by Ogorchock about fluoride in the water and “if it’s dangerous,” Buenting responded, “I can look into that.”

“I don’t like tiered rates but I don’t want the uniform rate, either,” the councilwoman stated. She then made a motion to approve the pr

“If we did a flat rate, unfortunately, it’s going to negatively impact you,” Wilson said. I’m going to definitely second this.”

District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker said, “We could keep explaining…but it won’t keep people’s pockets from hurting.”

“The challenge with Antioch is…why they stay so low is because there are a lot of poor working people and seniors.

“I was not for this the last time so, I will not be for this tonight,” the mayor said.

The motion failed on a 2-1-1 vote.

“It does not pass,” City Clerk Ellie Householder stated. “With two yes and one abstention by Councilwoman Torres-Walker, one no by the mayor and Councilman Barbanica absent.”

“If the new council wants to take this up, they can take it up,” Hernandez-Thorpe stated. “As I said, I was against this from the start.”

the attachments to this post:

City of Antioch Water Rate Increase

Antioch proposed water rate increases ACC111224

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 12th, 2024 at 10:45 pm and is filed under City Council, News, Water. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.