Draft Capital Charge Letter Explaining Need for Second of Four Planned Fee Increases

water main

Over a 17 year period, the City is phasing in four planned fee increases in order to pay for improvements to the City’s aging water and wastewater systems. The Capital Projects Charge was approved by the City Council on November 20, 2014, and became effective with the March 2015 bill. This charge funded capital projects such as the Water Main Replacement Projects 1 & 2, which improved water pressure for better fire protection in Brisbane’s upper streets:

  • The first project served Sierra Point, Humboldt, Annis, Thomas, and San Bruno and was completed in 2019)

  • The second project served Kings, Margaret, Paul, and Harold and was completed in 2021

Now, it’s time to start the process for the next planned fee increase. Arriving in mailboxes in early August will be a 3-page letter. The full letter can be accessed at: brisbaneca.org/DraftCapitalProjectsCharge

We wanted to be very clear in that this second planned fee increase has NOT yet gone into effect; a public hearing needs to be held at a regular City Council meeting before any new fee increases can take effect. The scheduled meeting date for that public hearing is October 6, 2022. If a majority of rate payers protest, then the new fee cannot go into effect; level of service, though, will need to be reduced.  Learn more in this explanation video featuring Assistant City Manager Stuart Schillinger:

What may be confusing is that the FIRST planned Capital Projects Charge is based on the amount of water used between mid-February and mid-June, and changes once a year in August. So you could see that amount go up, or go down, based on your household’s water usage between mid-February and mid-June in your August bill (water usage is measured in units; 1 unit of water = 100 cubic feet, or 748 gallons*). The August bill will be arriving at the end of the month/August. Therefore, any changes for the Capital Projects Charge on your August bill is related to the change in your water usage, not the Capital Projects Charge explained in the letter dated August 5, 2022. If you should have any questions, please reach out to Ligia in Utility Billing at (415) 508-2154 or email her at lferreira@brisbaneca.org.

* The standard showerhead uses about 2.5 gallons of water per minute.  If you shaved 1 minute off your daily shower, you could save more than 900 gallons of water per year.  The Public Works Department has free Self-Audit Kits for residential and commercial accounts (includes local nurseries).  Come by the Public Works Counter during City Hall public walk-in hours to get yours today!

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