The Los Osos Community Services District (CSD) board will soon decide whether to increase water rates for people over the next three years.
According to the CSD, the cost of water services has increased by 3% over the past year. To combat that, two options are recommended to the board: either a 3% inflation rate or a 4% inflation rate going into effect each year over the next three years.
“For retired people on fixed incomes like myself and a lot of people I know, this is a big thing for rate increases,” said Jeff Symonds, a Los Osos resident.
Right now, the bi-monthly base fee is $75. If approved, it would increase the amount to $80 by 2028.
“We’re tired of inflation being used as an excuse," Josh Warn, a Los Osos resident, said. "People have shrugged their shoulders and [are] not coming out and fighting this."
The tiers, which are a system of pricing based on how much water one uses, will also be increased if approved. Tier one is the lowest use of water, and tier four is the highest use of water.
“Charges are going up. It’s the base fee, and there is a percentage on usage. That’s not right,” said Lucia Stone, Los Osos resident.
With the 3% inflation rate option in the first year, people who fall under tier one will be paying $7.21 on top of the $77 base fee. That amount would increase to $8.04 in the third year, pushing the 3-year average upward by 4.58%
Some do not think it is fair that everyone pays the same flat fee.
“The same base fees are charged to people with single-family homes that are being charged to large agricultural users,” said Symonds.
With the 4% inflation rate option, tier one residents could be paying $7.28 in the first year on top of the $77, eventually increasing to $8.18 in the third year. The three-year average would increase by 4.92%.
In an email, CSD General Manager Ron Munds said that "the options deal with how much revenue the Board thinks we need to safely operate our water system; it mainly is driven by the amount of maintenance and upgrades we want to do each year.”
“It’s easy to complain about it after the fact, but there is something we can be doing ahead of this,” Stone said.
If the board agrees on an option at Thursday’s meeting, the CSD will send out a notice under Prop 218 letting residents know of their ability to protest the rate increase by June.
If community members hold a 50% plus one protest before that June meeting takes place, the rates will not increase.
