The minimum a Manteca household is currently paying for municipal sewer, water, and garbage service is $111.47 a month.

The minimum the three services will cost by the time July 1, 2028 rolls around is $170.10. a month. And that assumes the solid waste rate hike currently being phased in annually through Jan. 1, 2027 isn’t increased in 2028.

Driving the monthly municipal utility costs are proposed increases in basic water and sewer rates that go before the Manteca City Council for the first time on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

The current combined basic rates of sewer and water service is $60.45.

That rate was in place in 2009.

The rates for sewer and water will be at $107.03 when fully implemented in 2028 while solid waste will be at $63.07 compared to the current $50.92.

If the new sewer and water rates are implemented on May 15, 2025 as proposed, the three combined municipal services will cost a minimum of $134.49 compared to $111.47 some  six months from now. That reflects a $23.02 a month hike in utility billing starting in May.

By the time the basic sewer and rate proposal is fully implemented in 2028, those two services will have experienced a 77 percent jump.

And households will be paying $58.63 more a month for sewer, water, and garbage than they are today.

The council back in 2009 adopted annual rate increases over a four year horizon but held them in abeyance each year.

They did by proclaiming they wanted to give Manteca households a break in dealing with the Great Recession.

The abeyance — which was never lifted — initially did not create a problem.

That’s because wastewater and water system workers paid by enterprise funds that have their revenue come from ratepayers and not taxes agreed to 20.1 percent compensation cuts along with general fund workers.

The pay rollback included mostly pre-negotiated pay raises that hadn’t gone into effect yet.

But because rates were never increased, reserves were dipped into and capital needs involving existing water system infrastructure wasn’t being addressed.

Work that couldn’t be delayed for public health and safety reasons was performed by borrowing money from other municipal accounts that has to be paid back.

There are also pressing needs that still need to be addressed.

That is on top of inflationary impact on wages, supplies, and electricity over the past decade

In 2014 a series of unrelated events took place that impacted sewer and water balance sheets.

The city’s longtime finance director retired.

Other longtime key employees retired.

The revolving door then started spinning on the senior management level.

An understaffed finance department staff — and some contend inadequate experience at the top  — came into play.

The city then went through five city managers in less than four years.

In the mess, no one paid attention to the need to increase sewer and water rates.

The current council, trying to make sure the city’s infrastructure is properly addressed, commissioned two studies on needs and operating costs for both municipal water and sewer operations.

The bottom financial line of the water master plan and wastewater master plan updates the City Council accepted 11 months ago: Manteca needs to spend in excess of $633 million on water and wastewater system improvements through 2045.

The process ahead

Assuming the council gives the go ahead Tuesday, it will trigger the Proposition 218 process.

It requires mailing notices to all of Manteca’s 24,000 plus utility customers.

Two community meetings are planned to explain the justification for the rate hikes. They will take place Jan. 29 and Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. at the Manteca Transit Center, 220 Moffat Blvd.

There is a March 3 deadline to submit protests.

The first hearing on the rate hike is March 18 and the second is April 15.

If 50 percent plus one of the 24,000 plus utility customers don’t indicate they are against the rate hikes in writing, the council can proceed.

The fees would be put in place May 15.

Given the high threshold, it is fairly unlikely enough written protests would be submitted to stop the rate hikes.

Other water rates

There are other rates involved.

Water usage beyond the first 200 cubic feet households use is an extra charge.

The city is also proposing unit rate charges for sewer service for apartments and mobile homes.

Those are currently assessed on a large commercial volume charge paid by the landlord or mobile home park owner.

Apartments would be charged at $41.70 a month initially and then reach $51.60 by July 1,2028.

Mobile homes will go start at $37.20 a month and top out at $46 on July 1, 2028.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabuleletin.com