The San Diego City Council reconvenes on Monday after a two-week winter recess with a host of contentious issues to deal with.
One of the first orders of business is a report on the five-year financial outlook of the city's water and wastewater utility funds. Last October, the council approved two years of steep water rate hikes in order to pay for federally mandated water infrastructure and the rising cost of water purchases.
The financial outlook report, however, states that two years of rate increases will not be enough to keep the utility funds solvent. Finance officials say, barring significant changes in costs or revenues, the city will have to raise water and sewer rates by 11.5% in fiscal year 2028, 11% in fiscal years 2029 and 2030 and 5% in fiscal year 2031.
City officials have blamed much of the rising water rates on the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA), which has historically overestimated the county's demand for water and now has more supply than it needs.
The city's Office of the Independent Budget Analyst (IBA) said in its review of the financial outlook report that the city should put more pressure on the CWA to lower costs.
"A reliable supply that no one can afford is not actually reliable nor in the public’s interest," wrote Jordan More, principal and fiscal policy analyst in the IBA's office. "The city’s representatives should focus on continuing to rightsize CWA’s water supply and purchasing costs, particularly through selling excess supplies, and progress toward this, including an agreement to sell a significant portion of CWA’s supply, should be targeted in the next year."
One issue that is not on the council's agenda, but is top of mind for several council members, is the new parking fees in Balboa Park. The fees began on Jan. 5 and have sparked outrage among constituents.
Two council members on Tuesday called for the fees to be suspended for city residents. But Mayor Todd Gloria swiftly rejected that proposal, pointing out in a four-page memo that the fee structure was the result of a six-month negotiation between his office and the council.
The council also delayed the start of the parking fees by several months, causing a shortfall in the city's budget. The IBA has warned that balancing the city's budget will require additional cuts to city services.
