Council will determine water rates at July 14 public hearing

CITY OF SEAL BEACH

The Seal Beach City Council will hold a public hearing on July 14 where it will decide whether or not to increase the city’s water and sewer rates. The public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers, located at 211 Eighth St., Seal Beach, CA 90740.

“To sum it up, we are in the red,” said Seal Beach Public Works Director Iris Lee during an April study session with the council. “We have failing infrastructure, and we need to adjust rates to protect health and safety [...] This is the best and most realistic approach to provide reliable water and sewer services.”

If there is a majority protest, the council will not be able to adopt the proposed rate increases. In the absence of a majority protest, the city council can make adjustments to the proposed water and sewer rates, but it cannot increase them beyond what was proposed in the public notice mailed to all city residents in May.

On June 24, the GRF Board authorized staff to send a letter to the City of Seal Beach protesting the rate increase as proposed, which would make LW’s water and sewer bills more expensive.

If adopted, the proposed rate adjustments would become effective Aug. 1. People who cannot attend the meeting in person can watch it live on cable, SBTV-Channel 3, or on YouTube.