Grover Beach residents will vote on wastewater rates in the general election 

Come November, Grover Beach voters will get the chance to lower their wastewater rates with Measure G-24.

The citizens ballot initiative from Grover H2O proposes repealing water and wastewater rate increases from December 2023 that aimed to help the city fund its portion of the Central Coast Blue project. While the Grover Beach City Council voted to opt out of Central Coast Blue in April and revert water rates to what they were before the increase, it didn't do the same for wastewater rates.

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• File Photo By Jayson Mellom
• VOTERS CHOICE Grover Beach community members will vote on Measure G-24, a citizen's ballot initiative that proposes the repeal of increased water and wastewater rates.

"So, what's confusing is when people talk about their water bill, they actually mean their water and their sewer bill because they're both on the same bill," Grover H2O member and former city Mayor Debbie Peterson told New Times. "I think what the city did was because they had to, because they pulled out of the Central Coast Blue project. However, they did not reduce the sewer increases, they only reduced the water increases."

The October 2023 study that recommended increasing wastewater rates by almost 20 percent to help meet future obligations, revenue requirements, debt coverage requirements, and other financial planning criteria, also recommended the city do the same with wastewater rates. In December 2023, when the Grover Beach City Council decided to increase water rates by 19.5 percent, it also voted to add $5 or a 6.5 percent increase to each bimonthly wastewater bill starting on Jan. 1, 2024.

Grover Beach City Manager Matthew Bronson told New Times that a yes on Measure G-24 would lower sewer rates back to the 2021 levels, which would reduce the funding available for maintenance, operation, capital improvements, and reserves for the city's sewer system.

"Cities rely on rates for funding major improvement and repair projects, and thus the reduction of both water and sewer rates could affect the city's ability to obtain such funding," he said.

An argument against Measure G-24 that's posted on the city's website states that the city has aging water and sewer systems that are up to 60 years old, and this measure risks the community's public health, safety, and forward progress.

"For many years Grover Beach has maintained the lowest water and sewer rates in the county. This reckless measure reverts rates to levels that cannot possibly fund the necessary repairs to fix current system deficiencies, ensure safe water and sewer systems for the future, and completion of planned street repairs," the argument reads. "Our city has evolved into a vibrant, action-oriented community with a clear sense of purpose and pride. Thriving neighborhoods and businesses are a testament to our recent investments in street and infrastructure improvements. Let's continue to go forward, not backward to a time of underfunded utilities, horrible roads, and other unmet community needs."

The argument in favor of Measure G-24, also posted on the city's website, claims that the city has failed to notify customers of price hikes, implemented early increases without authority, has often issued excessive bills, misinformed the public, and violated election law.

"A yes vote on this initiative returns water and sewer rates to where they were before the Dec. 11, 2023, vote by the City Council to double the rates over five years," the argument states. Δ