Amid the same threats that have plagued Grover Beach’s wastewater rate increase discussion since 2023, the city is trying a different approach this time around.
On March 24, the City Council opted to continue the beachside berg’s steady march toward increasing wastewater rates. At the same time, council members also asked city staff to put together an informational mailer to send out to the residents before the April 14 meeting, when the council will consider what the rate increases will be and whether to start the required Proposition 218 rate protest process.
City Councilmember Clint Weirick said that the formal Proposition 218 process isn’t really that user-friendly, so he requested giving residents the opportunity to send their feedback in prior to the council’s April 14 discussion. That way, he said, the council can incorporate the information into their decision-making process.
“Because once a 218 process is authorized, it’s basically all or nothing at that point,” Weirick said.
The results of a wastewater rate study showed that the city needs to increase its rates to pay for ongoing maintenance as well as $15 million in much-needed capital projects such as replacing old sewer lines.
Consultant Clayton Tuckfield told the council that rates would need to increase by 17.8 percent per year for the next five years. He added that the average bimonthly bill for a single-family residential wastewater customers would increase from an estimated $25 to $30 starting this July.
By 2029-30 fiscal year, those average single-family bimonthly sewer bills would be almost double what they are currently—to around $58. The increases would generate an additional $1.3 million in revenue for the wastewater fund by the 2029-30 fiscal year, according to the staff report.
To pay for the capital improvement projects, the city is also planning to take out three bonds in the future. Servicing that debt, Tuckfield said, is incorporated into the recommended rate structure.
Mayor Kassi Dee asked whether the city would still need to upgrade its sewer lines and facilities without new development. Public Works Director Greg Ray said yes.
“More than half of that has been a need for many years,” he said.
At the Feb. 24 meeting, Ray explained that upgrades should be done soon to avoid impacts such as odor, clogs, backups, and overflow in existing lines that are decades old. Some of the lines, he explained are at 80 to 89 capacity, when they should ideally be operating between 50 and 70 percent. Upgrading existing sewer lines will cost the city approximately $9.2 million, according to data in the staff presentation.
Residents who have consistently spoken out against any wastewater rate increases spoke during public comment, repeating the same warnings from the Feb. 24 meeting.
“The community actually spent a lot of money out of their own pockets to educate the community about the 218 last time,” resident Brenda Auer said. “And the community spoke. And the council didn’t listen. … Don’t take us back to the streets. Listen this time.”
Her comments included a set of interagency loans the city authorized from the wastewater fund to other city funds as evidence of fiscal mismanagement, which led to the situation the city’s in now. These include two loans made between 2007 and 2011 and a loan made in 2016. According to City Manager Matt Bronson, ensuring that money gets back to the wastewater fund is a priority.
“All of those were done prior to anybody on the current council and City Council from being in their roles,” Bronson told New Times. “We’ve been repaying the loans.”
The recommended rate increase includes an “acceleration of payment” on the remaining loans, which total about $1 million, over the next five years. He added that the loan repayment plan brought down the potential rate increase by 1 to 2 percent.
As part of the discussion, the council also directed staff to come back with a policy to head off interagency loans like this in the future. Councilmember Joan Tuggle said they recognize it’s not the best practice.
“Like when people were borrowing money from their houses to buy new cars,” she said. “I don’t want to keep having this conversation. We’re trying to fix it. Let’s get real clear … and then we’re generally moving forward having better systems in place.” Δ
This article appears in Mar 27 – Apr 6, 2025.
Well, after reading this latest story-especially Brenda Auer’s comments-I dang near fell out of my chair laughing. Her threats are about as convincing as a snake oil salesman at a Sunday sermon. Let’s call it what it is-a smokescreen to distract from the royal mess she, Peterson, and their posse created, dragging the city back to the days of bean fields and dirt roads. While I hang my hat in another coastal community considering development, even I know that discussions about growth ought to be based on facts, not another round of political hogwash.
Now, I ain’t claiming to be the sharpest tool in the shed, but even a half-blind mule could’ve seen that when Grover high-tailed it our of the Central Coast Blue project, Auer and Peterson should’ve tipped their hats, said “job well done,” and ridden off into the sunset. But instead, they spun a tall tale, folks bought it, and now-well, wouldn’t you know it-some of those same folks might not be able to flush their own bull down the toilet.
Gotta hand it to Tuggle-she’s got a good eye on those inter-fund loans, and she’s sniffing out something worth paying attention to. And the Mayor? Well, she laid it out plain and simple: this work’s gotta get done whether folks like it or not.
Here’s hoping they wrangle this mess before the whole town starts to smell like the wrong end of a cattle drive.
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