Council Confirms Water Rate Increase

Foster City residents can soon expect a notice in the mail alerting them that a public hearing will be held by the City Council to confirm its decision last night to increase city water rates will increase by almost 30 percent.

Finance Director Steve Toler said the notices for the June 6 hearing will be sent out today, as the City Council of Foster City approved a proposal to increase water rates to $2.80 per unit.

Toler said the average Foster City household currently pays about $85 per bill based on two months of use, but under the new approved rate, residents can expect to pay about $103 per each bill.

The unanimous 4-0 decision, when council members said the rate hike was catalyzed
by a fee increase from the San Francisco Public Utility Commission, that sells water to Foster City.

Councilman Charlie Bronitsky was absent from last night's meeting, that featured the council making its decision while members acted as the Estero Municipal Improvement District.

According to Toler, the SFPUC will increase its current $1.90 per unit rate to Foster City by 90 cents to $2.80 per unit. As a result, Foster City will charge its residents $2.83 per unit.

The rate increase from the SFPUC is compelled by its paying one-third of the $4.6 billion improvement to the Hetch Hetchy water transportation system. The commission shoulders its share of the rehabilitation cost and purchases the water, then sells it to smaller Bay Area markets.

The new rate to the city is 10 cents more than was originally anticipated by officials, said Toler. Initially it was expected the SFPUC would charge Foster City $2.70 per unit.

Toler also said the SFPUC could increase its rate to the city by another 10 cents in January 2012. And should those rates increase, Toler said fees to Foster City residents may go up again as well.

"We have to respond to what the SFPUC charges us," said Toler.

Mayor Linda Koelling said Foster City is at the mercy of the SFPUC, and called the Commission's pricing "out of control."

But Councilman Rick Wykoff defended the price increases, and attributed to the significant costs that the SFPUC is taking on by paying for the Hetch Hetchy water transportation system.

Wykoff said the city and its residents should expect to continue seeing increases in water rates in the future.

He also said during the March 28 meeting that the cost of water may double for residents living in cities that purchase water from the SFPUC, during the construction period on the water transportation system.

Koelling agreed with Wykoff regarding his expectations, and said the city has worked in the past to prepare itself for these increases.

The city has been able to offset price increases to residents by using discretionary money in the past, but that fund is drying up, according to a city report.

Councilwoman Pam Frisella said residents concerned about their water consumption may request a free audit of their usage, done by representative of the city.

Frisella said she had someone come to her house who checked her irrigation systems and will get her recommendations about how to reconfigure it in a fashion that will promote more conscientious use.