Paso Robles City Council approves water rate increases

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• Grover Beach water rates would rise 10 percent unless 2,400 protest

  Grover Beach water rates would rise 10 percent unless 2,400 protest

  A 10 percent water-rate increase would take effect in April in Grover Beach unless more than half of the city’s property owners or water customers say they oppose it.

  Grover Beach officials say the increase is needed to cover basic operational and maintenance costs, re-establish a reserve fund and close an estimated $196,186 deficit in the water fund budget.

  The budget for the water fund was adopted with a deficit, but city officials had planned to close it by repaying a $900,000 loan the water fund had made to the city’s former Redevelopment Agency several years ago, City Manager Bob Perrault said.

• Citizens group challenges Paso Robles leaders

  Citizens group challenges Paso Robles leaders

  Paso Robles has been hit in recent years with a host of problems that haven’t resonated well with some taxpayers. Those problems prompted two city residents to form the group Change Paso Robles Now, which plans to push the City Council for an audit of all departments.

• Residents get new rates for water use

  Residents get new rates for water use

  Water customers in Atascadero will see their monthly bills increase this week by an average of 7.5 percent. The Atascadero Mutual Water Company’s Board of Directors earlier this month adopted water rate hikes that include a surcharge for the Nacimiento Water Project after a previous funding plan fell through.

  Under the new rates, which went into effect Wednesday, the monthly water bill for an average single-family residential customer will increase from $44.45 to $48.15 per month while an average business user’s bill will increase from $54.99 to $56.68. An average single-family residence uses 11,000 gallons of water per month, while an average business uses 19,000 gallons, according to the utility. Tiers in the rate system encourage conservation, so those who use more water pay more.

  Increases for all users, minus fire connections, include a $2.50 surcharge per meter that the utility’s Board of Directors also approved to help fund the community’s share in the Nacimiento pipeline.

• Water rate hike disputed by customers

  Water rate hike disputed by customers

  More than 100 people from as far away as Ojai packed the South Bay Community Center in Los Osos on Friday afternoon to protest hefty rate increases proposed by Golden State Water Co.

  The private water company has customers throughout the state and county, including in Los Osos, Edna Valley and Nipomo. It is proposing various rate increases depending on location, with some of the biggest for 3,300 customers in Los Osos and Edna Valley where rates would go up 48.9 percent for a typical home in 2013.

  The state Public Utilities Commission held the meeting to get customer feedback. It must approve any rate increase and expects to make a decision a year from now, said Administrative Law Judge Richard Smith, who is hearing the case.

• Paso Robles ponders raising sales tax by half-cent

  Paso Robles ponders raising sales tax by half-cent

  Paso Robles voters in November will decide whether they want a half-cent sales tax increase to raise additional money for road repairs and public safety.

  The City Council on Saturday held its second public study session this year detailing how to rebuild services after years of cuts.

  If the economy recovers as expected, that would add only about $1.3 million total revenue over the next five years, without the tax increase. But the city has cut more than $7 million in annual spending since 2009.