From the Voice of San Diego:
San Diego City Councilmembers on Tuesday begrudgingly voted to hike the city’s water rates by nearly 30 percent over the next two years, despite the fact that the region has more water than it needs.
Councilmembers squirmed as they voted, with some, such as District 3 Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, asking city staff whether the increase really needed to be that high.
Public Utilities staff told Whitburn that, if Councilmembers opted for lower rates, the city would have to lay off a quarter of its 2,000 utilities employees who currently maintain water pipelines and treatment plants.
Whitburn stomached the vote but urged the Council to set a cap on future payments to the San Diego County Water Authority, from which the city buys most of its water. Recent rate increases by the Water Authority forced the city to raise its own rates.
Some Councilmembers went further. District 5 Councilmember Marni von Wilpert, who is also running for Congress, urged the city to stage a mini water rebellion. She repeated a message she delivered back in January urging the city to stop paying its Water Authority bills.
“They’re not going to turn off our tap,” Von Wilpert said. “We can go to litigation over this. We can’t continue to rubberstamp what they’re telling us.”
Von Wilpert and three other Councilmembers – Henry Foster, Kent Lee and Vivian Moreno – voted against the increase.
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