BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Bakersfield City Council approved a five-year sewer rate increase plan in a 5-2 vote, raising annual residential sewer costs beginning in fiscal year 2026-27 to help fund long-term infrastructure improvements.
Under the approved plan, the annual sewer rate will increase to $475 in fiscal year 2026-27, or about $40 per month per household. The city says the increase is needed to support major wastewater infrastructure projects, including upgrades to treatment plants and improvements tied to future growth.
Bakersfield City Councilmember Zack Bashirtash, who represents Ward 6, described the situation as the result of decades of deferred action.
“This isn't a 10-year-old problem… I don't even think 20. I think probably 30 years ago, stuff should have started happening,” Bashirtash said.
Bashirtash said years of minimal increases left the city trying to catch up with aging infrastructure and growing system demands.
Some residents and county leaders questioned whether alternative financing methods, including bonding, could have reduced the need for significant rate increases.
Bashirtash argued the city was not financially positioned to rely heavily on that option.
“You have to have capital saved up in order to bond out a project… we weren't in a position to even bond out appropriately,” he said.
Still, the city’s sewer rates report outlines a plan that could potentially include a future bond beginning in fiscal year 2031-32 to help fund improvements.
The effects of the rate increase may also extend beyond Bakersfield city limits.
About 600 residents in Kern County Community Service Area 71 rely on Bakersfield’s sewer system, meaning their rates could also be affected by the city’s increase.
“So their rates are now connected to the city increases,” Kern County Supervisor Jeff Flores, who represents District 3, said.
County leaders say they are now evaluating possible next steps, including legal options, a localized Proposition 218 process or negotiations with the city.
Flores said he strongly opposes spreading any additional costs across county residents who are not directly impacted.
“I would vehemently oppose any effort to spread it across the countywide because people… they're not even impacted,” Flores said.
If finalized through the remaining process, the new sewer rate is expected to take effect July 1.
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