SAN JACINTO — The San Jacinto City Council adopted new water and sewer rates on Tuesday, Aug. 4, after Proposition 218 protest hearings at the Community Center.
Water rates passed 4-1. Sewer rates passed 3-0 after two members left the dais. Both schedules take effect Jan. 1, 2027, and rise each Jan. 1 through Jan. 1, 2031.
City water bills will go up. The mailed Proposition 218 notice gave this example: a typical single-family home using 1,100 cubic feet of water in a monthly billing period would go from $59.54 now to $92.53 under the 2027 rates. The same notice lists a separate Water Adjudication Fee on every unit. The Willdan rate study in the agenda packet, using a 3/4-inch meter and the same 1,100 cubic feet, put the full city water bill at $79.01 now and $104.63 in 2027.
The city’s sewer collection charge for a single-family home would rise from $8.22 a month to $10.48 on Jan. 1, 2027, up $2.26, the sewer notice says. Eastern Municipal Water District treatment charges are billed on top of that. The city does not set EMWD’s rates.
The meeting was at 625 S. Pico Avenue. Mayor Crystal Ruiz, Mayor Pro Tem Clarisa Sanchez, and Councilmembers Phil Ayala, Alonso Ledezma, and Valerie Vandever answered roll call. City Clerk Julia Espinoza called the roll. Staff reports name Travis Randel as interim city manager.
The water hearing ran from 7:02 to 8:29 p.m., the action minutes say. The council first voted 5-0 on Resolution 4144, findings on exhaustion of administrative remedies, and to proceed. Vandever moved. Sanchez seconded. Ayes: Ruiz, Sanchez, Ledezma, Vandever, Ayala.
Public Utilities Superintendent Mat Osborn and Finance Director Kimberly Ganimian presented.
Five people spoke, the minutes say: Michael Siordia, Brian Hawkins, Mike Sullivan, George Evans, and Ashley Macias. The minutes list the names. They do not say what anyone told the council.
The clerk recorded 12 written protests against the water rates. The city’s notice said a majority of affected parcels would have blocked the increase, and that the water system serves about 4,666 customers. Oral comments did not count as protests unless a written protest was filed. Email protests were not accepted.
Ledezma moved Resolution 4145, the water rate schedule, with CEQA findings. Sanchez seconded. The vote was 4-1. Ayes: Ruiz, Sanchez, Ledezma, Ayala. Nay: Vandever. The minutes give no reason for the no vote.
The adopted water schedule keeps the current structure and raises the numbers, according to the notice in the packet.
Most homes pay a monthly meter charge. For a 5/8-inch or 3/4-inch meter, that charge goes from $24.89 now to $51.84 on Jan. 1, 2027, then $75.17 in 2028, $86.45 in 2029, $90.77 in 2030, and $93.49 on Jan. 1, 2031. A 1-inch meter goes from $34.82 to $86.19 in 2027.
Residential use is billed in two tiers, per 100 cubic feet (748 gallons). Tier 1, the first 11 units, goes from $3.15 to $3.70 in 2027. Tier 2, above 11 units, goes from $3.90 to $4.49. By Jan. 1, 2031, those volume rates would be $6.67 and $8.10. Nonresidential customers pay a uniform rate, $3.73 now and $4.26 in 2027.
All water customers also pay the Water Adjudication Fee, $1.77 per 100 cubic feet now and $1.10 in 2027. The notice says that fee covers groundwater-basin management and replenishment under the Hemet-San Jacinto Groundwater Management Program.
The sewer hearing opened at 9:54 p.m. and closed at 10:22 p.m., the action minutes say.
The council voted 5-0 on Resolution 4146, the exhaustion findings, and to proceed. Vandever moved. Sanchez seconded. Ayes: Ruiz, Sanchez, Ledezma, Vandever, Ayala. Osborn and Ganimian presented again.
Four people spoke: Michael Siordia, Brian Hawkins, Manuel Sotelo, and Susan Acevedo. The minutes give names only.
The clerk recorded 13 written protests against the sewer rates.
Ledezma moved Resolution 4147, the sewer schedule, with CEQA findings. Sanchez seconded. The vote was 3-0. Ayes: Ruiz, Ledezma, Sanchez. Absent: Ayala, Vandever. The minutes do not say why they were off the dais. Both voted later on a 1st Street contract, which passed 5-0. Mayor Ruiz adjourned the meeting at 11:05 p.m.
Most residential sewer customers pay a monthly city collection charge per equivalent dwelling unit. That charge goes from $8.22 now to $10.48 on Jan. 1, 2027, then $14.15 in 2028, $19.10 in 2029, $19.67 in 2030, and $20.26 on Jan. 1, 2031. Some businesses, restaurants, and most schools pay by water use instead: $0.75 per 100 cubic feet now and $0.95 in 2027.
Customers pay the city’s collection rate plus EMWD treatment and disposal charges. For city water customers, EMWD’s charges appear on the city bill. Others may see the city sewer charge on an EMWD bill. The notice lists EMWD’s present charges as $8.22 per EDU and $40.31 per sewage unit and says those figures can change.
Staff reports from Ganimian, approved by Randel, and the Willdan Financial Services rate study say existing rates will not cover later years of the plan. The city cited higher costs for labor, materials, energy, chemicals, construction, and contracted work, plus repair of aging pipes, wells, reservoirs, and sewer mains. Water rates also cover debt service. Both staff reports say that without the increases, the general fund would have to subsidize the utilities.
The notices went out under Article XIII D of the California Constitution, commonly called Proposition 218. The new rates apply to service on and after Jan. 1, 2027.
The City Council meets next on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, 6:30 p.m. open session, at the San Jacinto Community Center, 625 S. Pico Avenue. Agendas: https://horizon.agendalink.app/engage-v2/sanjacintoca/agendas
