City Council approves sewer-rate increases

By Michael Chaldu · Fri May 15 2026

Weed abatement, fee-schedule amendments also pass in Tuesday's meeting

ATASCADERO — In a relatively quiet Tuesday, May 12, meeting, the Atascadero City Council meeting passed an increase on city wastewater rates after a public hearing.

The council also handled items pertaining to the city's weed abatement program, and schedule amendments for the city's service fees.

The meeting began with City Manager Jim Lewis honoring city employees who have served five, 10, and 20 years with the city, which culminated in Administrative Services Director Jeri Rangel being honored for 25 years of service.

Rangel came to the city as a senior accountant in 2001, and has been the administrative services director since 2013, overseeing all of the city's finances.

All three of the council's action items were public hearings, beginning with the Proposition 218 Majority Protest Process Relative to Proposed Increase to Wastewater (Sewer) Rates.

Public Works Analyst Ryan Betz explained that after an analysis of the wastewater services, staff proposed an increase based on what was termed an equivalent dwelling unit (EDU), which was described by Betz as the basis for a single-family residence (SFR) service charge, which is based upon an estimated average daily flow of 240 gallons of wastewater and typical wastewater strength. Other user types are assigned a multiple or fraction of an EDU based upon expected average daily flow and strength of wastewater compared to that of an SFR.

The proposed rate for city residents was $67.60, which would be a $10.54 increase from the current 57.06. Betz said the current rates are well below the median charge of rates among other county cities, and the increased rates would still be below that mark.

The public hearing was a chance for residents to voice their protests to the increase, whether by mail or in person. Betz said notices were mailed to the 5,637 customers in town in March.

If the majority of residents were to file a protest, the council would recognize the result and table the vote. If the number of protests did not meet the majority, the council would vote to recognize that and move to approve the increase.

Lewis then took the floor to update the council on the Wastewater Task Force, which he said had held six meetings, with more planned for the future. He said that the current wastewater facility was at 99% capacity, and he envisioned a new or updated facility that would be "practical, not fancy."

During council questions, Councilmember Seth Peek asked if home and business owners would be able to voluntarily share their wastewater data with staff to help analysis.

"Main thing is, with commercial being a large number of EDUs, business owners may doubt usage numbers," Peek said. "For commercial property tenants, it might be better to volunteer data and ask about fairness and differences in business usage."

Public Works Director Nick De Bar said staff would definitely welcome data from businesses and residents, and Lewis said if the new increase is passed, they would look into different kind of data next year in regards to the wastewater rates.

After questions, and no speakers for Public Comment, City Clerk Lara Henderson announced that there was only one protest filed on the increase, falling well short of majority. With that Councilmember Susan Funk moved to approve the recognition of non-majority protest and passage of the increases. Mayor Pro Tem Mark Dariz seconded and the item passed 5-0.

The next item was H2. Weed abatement hearing of objections. Atascadero Fire Battalion Chief David Van Son introduced the item, explaining that weed abatement is a "vital part of the city's fuel management," and property owners and residents are expected to maintain their yards to mitigate fire danger.

Van Son said parcels were inspected early in the year for weed abatement, and 5,868 letters were mailed for parcels not in compliance, this meeting was set aside for objections to any of the notices, and for any parcels not in compliance by June 1, a city contractor would perform abatement at cost of the property owner.

No objections were raised during Public Comment and Funk moved to approve the abatement, which passed by a 5-0 vote.

Finally, council heard Item H3. Amendments to fee schedule. Rangel introduces the item, saying a wide range of city services are funded in part by fees paid by the users and in part by a General Fund subsidy. The amount of General Fund subsidy that is required is predicated on the degree to which the city can recover the costs reasonably borne to provide the special services.

Rangel added that the update reflects inflation adjustment of 3.21%, and if adopted, fees will be effective in 60 days.

There were no objections; however, Funk did suggest one amendment to Ordinance 26-104 involving special events: In the language for the Father-Daughter and Mother-Son (which was recently established) dances, that the cost of "$5 for each additional daughter" should be changed to "$5 for each additional child" to reflect both events.

After staff assured council that change would be made, Funk moved to approve the item, which passes 5-0.

The City Council will next meet on Tuesday, May 26, at 6 p.m.