Roseville Utility Rates Expected to Rise

Infrastructure, maintenance, & compliance cited

Roseville, CA- The cost of delivering utility services continues to rise and to keep pace with these increased costs, your Environmental Utilities is proposing utility rate adjustments for water, wastewater, and waste services (trash and recycling.)

We are holding a virtual public meeting April 13 at 6 p.m. (RSVP required) to share the details of the rate proposal and answer questions.

The rate adjustment proposal will offset costs of infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation, compliance with current and future regulations (including unfunded mandates), and to ensure continued high quality services.

Rates customers pay for utility services only. Moreover, as required by our City Charter, we must have sufficient revenue (generated mainly by rates) to support expenses.

Things to consider as part of our rate adjustment process:

• The proposal will make its way to our Public Utilities Commission in April and City Council for review and approval in May.
• Each utility bill customer will receive a notice (Prop 218) in the mail describing the rate proposal in detail by mid-March.

Customers interested in learning more can attend the virtual community meeting on April 13 through Microsoft Teams to provide an overview of the factors that are driving the need for a proposed adjustment.

Please use this link to RSVP by April 10 so that we can add you to the meeting invite to receive log/call in information to attend.

Proposed rate adjustment

Proposed Rate Adjustment – Impact on a Typical Residential Customer*

*A typical residential customer uses 1,400 cubic feet of water per month, has a flat wastewater rate, a single 90-gallon garbage container, and a single 90-gallon green waste container.
**These rates do not apply to customers receiving water utility bills from the Placer County Water Agency or the San Juan Water District.
*** Rate adjustments are approximate. Actual charges may vary due to rounding.

Rates pay for utility services only. Moreover, as required by our City Charter, we must have sufficient revenue (generated mainly by rates) to support expenses. Things to consider as part of this effort:

• Staff is proposing a rate adjustment as illustrated below.
• The proposal will make its way to Roseville City Council for review and approval scheduled for May.
• Each utility bill customer will receive a notice (Prop 218) in the mail describing the rate proposal in detail.
  
  One of the ways we are reducing customer impacts as part of this proposal is based on a reserve policy implemented by Roseville City Council back in 2015. This prudent policy was part of a long-term planning approach that includes both a rate stabilization and an economic reserve.

These funds provide a level of fiscal stewardship where a small portion of your monthly bill is collected and set aside to offset unforeseen circumstances – and protects against unanticipated shortfalls that could otherwise affect your reliable utility service.

Under our current rate adjustment proposal, we are using a portion of funds in our rate stabilization to offset what might be a higher increase for all three utility services. Additionally, in the event of savings at the end of each fiscal year, we will place those savings back into rate stabilization funds for the future.