Proposition 218 Notification

Notice of Public Hearing Date and Water Rate Adjustments

In accordance with California Constitution Article XIII D, the Centerville Community Services District (the “District”) recommends adopting proposed fees and charges.  You are receiving this notice in compliance with California Proposition 218 requirements which state that all impacted property owners are mailed a notice of proposed rate changes at least 45 days prior to the public hearing.   This notice describes the District’s proposed rate increases and explains why they are necessary.  It also provides information on how to file a protest against the proposed rate increases if so desired.  Please call the office at (530) 246-0680 should you have any questions.

At the April 19, 2023 Regular Board meeting, the Directors reviewed and adopted a preliminary Operations & Maintenance (“O&M”) Budget based upon the completed cost-of-service analysis.

The Board of Directors set a public hearing for June 21, 2023, at 7:00 pm (“Regular Board Meeting”).  The  Regular Board Meeting will be held at the District Office located at 8930 Placer Road, Redding, CA.   Please refer to the posted agenda for the most current meeting information.  At the public hearing, the proposed rate increases will be presented and the public will be given an opportunity to comment.  If adopted, the proposed changes will become effective July 1, 2023.  

The following is a summary of the recommended adjustments:

• A rate adjustment is proposed to the current Base and Consumption Rates - affecting all customers.
• A rate adjustment is proposed to the Water Availability Charge (WAC) - affecting 16 customers.
• Adjustments are proposed to the Base Rate Surcharge and the Consumption Rate Surcharge for Pump Zone A - affecting approximately 130 customers.

• Adjustments are proposed to the Base Rate Surcharge and the Consumption Rate Surcharge for Pump Zone A1 - affecting approximately 28 customers.

Basis of Proposed Rates                                        

In providing adequate water service and supply to its customers, the District must receive sufficient total revenue to ensure proper operation and maintenance (“O&M”), development and sustainability of the water system, and the preservation of the District’s financial integrity.  The District utilizes a cash-needs approach for the basis of rate-making.  The basic revenue requirement components of the cash-needs approach include: O&M expense, taxes or transfer payments, debt-service payments, contributions to specific reserves, and the cost of capital expenditures that are not debt financed or contributed (i.e., capital improvements funded directly from rate revenues).  

In supplying a reliable, adequate supply of high-quality water, at the lowest reasonable price, in an environmentally responsible manner, the District operates and maintains 55 miles of pipeline, six separate pressure zones, 377 fire hydrants, 725 valves, 93 air valves, 21 blow-offs, five booster pump stations, five pressure reducing stations, one pressure relief station, five reservoirs and three inter-tie connections. 

The District receives its water from Whiskeytown Lake which is treated at the Clear Creek CSD (“CCCSD”) Filtration Treatment Plant (“Treatment Plant”).  As such, the District is responsible for a proportionate share of all costs associated with the O&M of the Treatment Plant. 

Specific to Pressure Zones A & A1, rate adjustments are linked to increased energy cost as well as the need to build the District’s Pump Station Repair and Replacement Reserve.   These pump zones are completely reliant upon pumping for its water supply which requires power.  During the times of PG&E power outages and its related Power Safety Power Shutoff events, it is necessary to use emergency generators to power these critical pumps.  This has a significant impact to the overall budget for these small pump zones.   The adjustments are needed to adequately fund the reserve as well as pay for higher utility costs.

Proposed Base Rate & Consumption Rate Increases

The Board of Directors adopted a preliminary O&M Budget at the Regular meeting on April 19, 2023.   Due to increased expenses associated with the cost related to water and the ongoing operation and maintenance of the District’s distribution system as well as the increased Treatment Plant costs, the Board proposed adjusting the Base Rates and Consumption Rates for Residential, Commercial, Industrial and Institutional customers.  Please note the Base Rate does not include any water consumption. 

The proposed increases are depicted in the tables below:

Proposed Water Availability Charge (WAC)

The District’s Board of Directors is proposing to adjust the Water Availability Charge (WAC).  This increase is recommended to cover increased expenses associated with the cost for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the District’s distribution system and to bring the rate current.  

Proposed Residential Rate Increase

User Comparison

The following indicates how this proposal would affect the average user’s AUGUST bill:

Proposed Zone A Pump Surcharge Fee Increases

Below are the proposed Base Rate Surcharge and the Consumption Rate Surcharge rate increases for the Zone A Pump Zone which includes examples of how this will impact the monthly billing.   Zone A has approximately 128 customers.

The following example depicts how this proposed rate increase would impact Zone A customers’ typical AUGUST monthly bills depending on water usage:

Proposed Zone A1 Pump Surcharge Fee Increases

Below are the proposed Base Rate Surcharge and the Consumption Rate Surcharge rate increases for the Zone A1 Pump Zone which includes examples of how this will impact the monthly billing.   Zone A1 has approximately 28 customers.

The following example depicts how this proposed rate increase would impact Zone A1 customers’ typical AUGUST monthly bills depending on water usage:

Proposed Rate Increase Protest Procedure

If you intend to protest the proposed rate increases, you must submit a written protest to the District at, or before, the time set for the public hearing.  If a written protest is filed by a majority of ratepayers/parcel owners, the proposed rate increases will not be adopted.  

A written protest must contain a description of the parcel, or parcels, in which the party signing the protest owns.  A current address, or assessor’s parcel number, is sufficient to identify the parcel(s). If the party signing the protest is not shown on the last equalized assessment role of Shasta County as the owner of the parcel(s), the protest must contain, or be accompanied by, written evidence that such party is the owner of the parcel(s).  Only one written protest will be counted per identified parcel.