San Jacinto council to consider water-rate increases at Aug. 4 hearing
San Jacinto water customers and property owners face a public hearing Tuesday on proposed increases to city water rates that, if adopted, would apply to service provided beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The City Council is scheduled to consider the proposal at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 4 at the San Jacinto Community Center, 625 S. Pico Avenue. The rates are proposed, not approved, and the council’s action will determine whether they take effect.
What the proposal could mean for bills
The city’s Proposition 218 notice gives an example for a typical single-family home using 1,100 cubic feet of water during a monthly billing period. Under the proposed rates, that bill would rise from the current $59.54 to $92.53 per monthly billing period beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The example is not a prediction for every household. Actual bills would vary based on factors such as meter size, customer classification and water consumption.
The city water system serves approximately 4,666 customers. If adopted, the proposal would use annual rate adjustments beginning Jan. 1, 2027, and continuing each Jan. 1 through and including Jan. 1, 2031.
Charges included in the proposal
The city is proposing increases to the existing rate structure rather than replacing it. The proposed charges include:
- A monthly fixed charge based on meter size;
- A volumetric charge based on metered water consumption;
- A separate monthly fire-service charge for customers with dedicated fire-service meters; and
- A Water Adjudication Fee charged according to metered water consumption.
Residential customers would continue under a two-tier volumetric structure, while nonresidential customers would pay a uniform volumetric rate. The Water Adjudication Fee would help recover costs associated with groundwater-basin management and replenishment activities required under the Hemet-San Jacinto Groundwater Management Program, according to the city’s notice.
Why the city says rates need to rise
The city says the proposed revenue would support water-system operations, maintenance, repairs, rehabilitation, replacement and improvements. The notice also cites water-quality monitoring and testing, regulatory compliance, emergency repairs, reserve funding and capital improvement projects.
The notice says the utility has experienced higher costs for labor, materials, equipment, chemicals, energy, construction and contracted services. It also says portions of the system require continued rehabilitation, replacement and reinvestment to maintain reliable service and reduce the risk of interruptions or system failures.
Those are the city’s stated reasons and intended uses for the proposal. The notice says the rates were developed through a comprehensive water-rate study and a cost-of-service methodology intended to allocate costs among customer classes according to demand and usage characteristics.
How residents can participate
Property owners and customers of record may submit written protests against the proposed rates. A protest must state opposition, identify the property address or assessor’s parcel number, and include the owner’s or customer’s name and signature. Only one protest will be counted for each parcel.
Written protests must be mailed or hand-delivered to the City Clerk at 595 S. San Jacinto Avenue and received before the Aug. 4 hearing begins. They may also be hand-delivered at the hearing before the public-comment period concludes. The city says protests submitted by email or other electronic means will not be accepted. Oral comments do not count as formal protests unless accompanied by a written protest.
Under the notice, the proposed rates would not be adopted if written protests are submitted by a majority of affected parcels. If that threshold is not reached, the council would be authorized to adopt the rates after the hearing.
The notice also establishes a separate deadline for written legal objections alleging that the proposed rates do not comply with Proposition 218. Those objections had to be received by the City Clerk by 5 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, and must state the grounds for the claimed legal violation. A written Proposition 218 protest does not automatically qualify as a legal objection.
The council will consider the written and oral input at Tuesday’s hearing. If adopted, the proposed rates would take effect Jan. 1, 2027, followed by the additional annual adjustments described in the notice through Jan. 1, 2031.
Sources
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