Water Rates Jump

The City of Santa Barbara is proposing water and wastewater rate increases for the next several years. The increases are outrageous and not sustainable for those of us on fixed incomes, aka retired.

Our monthly fee just to be hooked up to city water is just under $78 for a 1-inch line. Not that long ago the fee was half this amount. The city is proposing to increase this fee to just under $114 by 2028. That is a 46 percent increase in four years.

Also, the city is proposing to increase the three tiered rates at between 35 percent and 63 percent over the next four years. Wastewater rates are also to increase by about 45 percent over this time period.

How does the City justify these increases?

Please write to the city and protest these rate increases before a vote takes place on June 25. As far as I know, the city offers no relief for low-income or fixed-income houses.