BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Bakersfield City Staff recommends to rescind the sewer rate increase for now following lots of questions and concerns from the public.
The city is required to gather public input under Proposition 218 before approving any rate changes. If approved, the proposed increase would raise annual sewer rates from $239 to $950, a jump of nearly 300 percent.
City officials argue the increase is necessary to repair aging infrastructure and comply with environmental regulations.
Lisa Smith said the hike wouldn’t affect her directly, but she still came out to share her concerns. “It hasn’t been taken care of now, it's gonna cost that much to fix. It’s like driving your car for 15 years without an oil change,” Smith said.
She wasn’t the only one raising concerns. Johnny Olaguez also spoke at the meeting, expressing worry for vulnerable members of the community.
“I’ll be okay but it snows I don’t have a voice anymore. I used to rent for years. What about renters? What about the old elderly that are on a fixed income?” Olaguez said.
Another resident, J.C. Llamas, voiced frustration over what he described as a lack of transparency.
“A lot of people have no idea what the parcel number is,” Llamas said.
Not everyone opposed the hike. Roman Matera said he supports the proposed increase and believes it’s long overdue. "I think that the sewer rate increase is not only justified, it's necessary, and it's the result of decades of flaws in our tax structure and how we've run local government," Matera said.
Outside the council chambers, Matera added, “This is an issue that's been put off for decades. It's far past time to revamp the tax system.”
The next scheduled meeting is set for Wednesday, May 14th.
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