Water Rates to Drop for Some Landowners

Water rates in Camarillo will rise by about 6%, but some landowners could actually see their bills drop, the City Council has decided.

During a 90-minute public hearing this week, a handful of wealthy Spanish Hills property owners convinced the council to grant them some relief from what they say are discriminatory water bills that reach as high as $500 a month.

Ever since the drought that plagued California in the early 1990s, Camarillo has charged for water on a four-tier system--with the biggest water consumers paying more per gallon than the average household. “The intent has always been to cover the cost of the water system and to promote conservation,” Mayor David M. Smith said.

But the result has been high bills for a small cluster of Spanish Hills residents who have large lots. “This is a very discriminatory pricing structure,’ said Barry Berkowitz. “It is prejudiced against one-acre property owners like myself.”

Berkowitz told the council that his water bill is $225 a month, and he has not even hooked up an irrigation system on his property. Others testified that their bills routinely exceed $400 a month and worried what the proposed rate hike would mean for them.

Council members voted to do away with the fourth level, instead bringing most Spanish Hills property owners down to the cheaper, third tier.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the rate hike was approved. It will take effect July 1. Finance Director Anita Bingham said that doing away with the fourth tier would not prevent the city from recovering its annual operating costs.

But Councilman Ken Gose voted against the proposal, saying that there should simply be a flat-rate system that does not factor the volume of water consumed into the monthly bill.

“It’s not the purpose of city government to try to redistribute the wealth through our water rates,” he said.