Fresno starts Proposition 218 process for water and wastewater rate overhaul
City of Fresno Water & Wastewater Division, California · Meeting date: November 5, 2026 · Published: November 6, 2026
Fresno City Council voted 5-2 to begin the statutory notice and protest process for proposed water and wastewater rate updates. The package is scheduled to return for a public hearing on December 29, after a debate over the timing, customer outreach and utility capital priorities.
Key points
- Council approved initiation of the Proposition 218 process by a 5-2 vote and set a December 29, 2026 public hearing.
- The proposed package covers five years of rate adjustments through June 30, 2031; staff said the schedule could be reduced by Council but not increased beyond the Proposition 218 notice.
- The Department of Public Utilities expects to send about 180,000 notices and protest cards to customers, including tenants who pay rates.
- Staff said wastewater charges would fall by $0.95 in the first year under the proposal, while water charges would increase.
- The city said its last implemented water-rate increase was in 2018 and its last wastewater-rate increase was implemented in 2010.
Full report
Fresno City Council has authorised the start of a Proposition 218 process for proposed changes and increases to water and wastewater charges, beginning a 45-day minimum notice and protest period ahead of a December 29 public hearing.
The measure passed 5-2 after being pulled from the consent calendar by Councilmember Miguel Arias. The proposed schedule would cover five years, through June 30, 2031. City staff said the Council could subsequently reduce individual annual adjustments, but could not exceed the rates set out in the Proposition 218 notice.
The Department of Public Utilities expects to mail approximately 180,000 notices and protest cards to customers, including tenants who are ratepayers. Under Proposition 218, a majority protest would require more than half of affected customers to return protests. Staff said Fresno has not previously received a majority protest in a utility-rate process.
The Director of Public Utilities told the Council that the proposal identifies a structural issue in the current rate plan that is not consistent with Proposition 218 requirements. The City Manager said prolonging the process after identifying that issue could expose Fresno to unnecessary risk.
The Director said wastewater charges would decrease by $0.95 in the first year of the proposed schedule, while water rates would rise. The City Manager said the city had discussed the need for utility-rate increases publicly for two to three years. Water-rate increases were last implemented in 2018, following Council approval in 2015, while wastewater increases were implemented in 2010 after approval in 2007.
Debate also centred on the capital programme behind the rate proposal. Arias questioned whether a future trunk sewer for the Southeast Development Area could compete with replacement of ageing infrastructure. Utility staff said a SEDA trunk sewer would be financed separately through bonds and a trunk-sewer fee, rather than by drawing from the proposed capital programme. They added that capital-project sequencing is reviewed continuously as projects move through design and construction.
Councilmember Brandon Vang sought to move the hearing to the next regular Council meeting in January and to add Punjabi language access alongside Spanish and Hmong materials. His proposed amendments did not receive a recorded second. The Council instead approved staff's recommendation, retaining the December 29 hearing date.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: City Council, City of Fresno Water & Wastewater Division