Fontana City Council adopts sewer-fee authority, routes charges to tax bills

Fontana property owners may see sewer charges show up as a line item on upcoming San Bernardino County property-tax bills after the City Council adopted two related actions on July 14, 2026: Ordinance No. 1993 and Resolution No. 2026-070.

In plain terms, Ordinance No. 1993 updates the legal “authorization pathway” Fontana uses when it later sets sewer service fee amounts by resolution. Resolution No. 2026-070 is the annual step that directs how certain residential sewer charges are placed onto the County’s property-tax rolls for collection for the 2026/2027 tax year.

What the City Council approved on July 14

Fontana’s July 14, 2026 agenda materials show the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1993 (second reading) and adopted Resolution No. 2026-070 for annual placement of sewer charges on the property tax rolls.

Ordinance No. 1993: the legal authorization mechanism

Ordinance No. 1993 authorizes sewer service fees or charges to be adopted by resolution. It also lays out that the ordinance takes effect 30 days after adoption, subject to publication.

The ordinance is not the document that automatically sets a single immediate sewer charge amount for every household. Instead, it’s the mechanism that allows Fontana to adjust sewer service fees through later resolution steps.

Resolution No. 2026-070: how sewer charges get routed to the County tax bill

Resolution No. 2026-070 directs placement of sewer service charges on property tax bills for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027, for the 2026/2027 property tax rolls.

The resolution also divides residential situations into different placement paths:

• Voluntary tax roll placement: For residential properties whose owners have elected tax roll billing, sewer charges are forwarded to San Bernardino County for addition to the 2026/2027 property tax rolls as a special assessment.
• Mandatory tax roll placement for delinquent sewer charges: For residential properties with unpaid liens for delinquent sewer charges as of June 30, 2026, the resolution directs forwarding the charges (and the amount of the unpaid liens) to the County for addition to the 2026/2027 property tax rolls as a special assessment.
• Mandatory tax roll placement for new connections / transfers: For all new residential connections and residential properties that changed ownership on or after July 1, 1995 (and that have not previously been placed on the property tax rolls), the resolution requires bi-monthly billing through June 30 of the assessment year. It then directs that sewer service charges for July 1 through June 30 of the assessment year be forwarded to the County for inclusion on the property tax rolls as a special assessment.

Resolution No. 2026-070 also says that if a rate change occurs during the assessment year, the City prepares a pro-rated adjustment to the assessment file that is added to the subsequent annual assessment.

How this connects to sewer rate changes residents may notice

Fontana’s Proposition 218 sewer notice frames the resident impact for the City’s sewer collection charge. It says that if approved, a typical residential customer in the “Regular” class would see an increase of $1.92 per month for the City’s portion, and that rate adjustments would go into effect July 1, 2026, with future increases scheduled annually each July 1 through July 1, 2030 (for the City and IEUA).

When those City collection charges are routed through the tax-roll process described in Resolution No. 2026-070, residents in the applicable placement categories could see sewer charges reflected directly on their property-tax statements for the 2026/2027 tax year.

Practical next steps for residents

If you’re a Fontana homeowner whose account is tied to sewer billing that is handled through San Bernardino County’s property-tax process, the key action is to check your San Bernardino County property-tax statement when it arrives and look for the sewer charge line item (if applicable to your parcel/customer category).

Because the resolution distinguishes between voluntary tax roll billing, delinquent lien placement, and new/ownership-change placement, households can have different billing experiences even in the same city. If something on your bill looks unclear, start by comparing what you see to the placement category described in Resolution No. 2026-070 and the details of the City’s Prop 218 notice.

Sources

• Fontana City Council Regular Agenda (July 14, 2026) — includes Ordinance No. 1993 and sewer tax-roll placement resolution item
• Fontana Prop 218 Notice (Final and Approved 4/28/2026) — Sewer Service Rates