Oxnard—Discussion of the City of Oxnard’s water rate increase continues with Council Member Gabe Teran, who made the motion and said the process differs from several years ago when the rates had to be looked at for the Enterprise funds before he was on the Council.
The City Council, by unanimous vote, approved the increase Tuesday, May 2, and introduced an ordinance establishing new water rates, fees, and charges.
“I saw the Council grapple with a highly contentious rate study for all of the Enterprise Funds, and these were significant rate increases because of the previous deferring of rate increases,” Teran said. “While I was also going to feel the rate increase, I was also empathetic to the Council for having to make the difficult decision to raise the rates to play catch-up for all the years that increases were not brought forward when they should have been.”
He noted the Council is approving water rate increases for themselves as well as customers and ratepayers.
“We are not exempt or immune from that,” he said. “When I saw this, I knew that even though I was going to feel the rate increase as I did a few years ago,…
