Mountain View residents can expect to pay more for water, wastewater and trash disposal, among increases approved the city council last month.
The ongoing drought, not fully addressed by winter rains, factors in a 10 percent hike in water and meter rates for the 2016-2017 fiscal year. Residents will pay 19 percent more for wastewater treatment due in part to capital costs associated with the Palo Alto-based treatment plant the city uses that is “in need of major renovations,” according to a staff report presented at the June 21 council meeting.
The council also approved a 10 percent increase for trash/recycling carts, effective Friday, with an additional 10 percent maximum increase in 2016-2017 for carts and a 2 percent hike for bins and compactors in the fall.
Staff estimated that the average bill for single-family residential units would rise from its current $66.08 for water to $72.73 in 2016-2017, sewer rates from $28.80 to $34.30 and trash/recycling from $26.60 to $29.30.
In the case of water, continued conservation among users is critical to keeping increases down, according to the staff’s report. City staffers said they tried to absorb the impact of the cost increases “as much as possible” through moves such as spreading out the increases over two or three fiscal years, and covering increases from the reserve fund.
In other news, the council adopted the city’s $116.8 million budget for 2016-2017. Police and fire services account for nearly 50 percent of that amount, with $35.3 million (30.2 percent) allocated for police and $21.4 million (18.3 percent) for the fire department.
City Manager Dan Rich said the city is in “good shape” financially and plans to add 24 new positions “to address workflow demands.”
Approvals included a $47.2 million 2016-2017 allocation for the city’s five-year capital improvement program, which covers 50 projects.
