FILLMORE : Water, Sewer Rates Will Rise by 10%

Water and sewer rates will rise by 10% in Fillmore, the City Council decided Tuesday. The new rates will take effect late next month.

City officials said the rate change was due to increased operating costs. Fillmore citizens experienced their last rate increase two years ago.

The basic rate for residential water customers will rise from $9 to $9.90 a month, and sewer bills will increase from a monthly average of $10.50 to $11.25.

Even after the increase, City Manager Roy Payne said, Fillmore’s water and sewer rates will be lower than those in six other Ventura County communities.

A proposal to charge higher water rates to customers using large amounts of water was returned to staff for evaluation.

Mayor Scott Lee said that while it might be a good idea to penalize people who waste water, the proposal also would have charged a higher rate to commercial operations that must use larger amounts of water than residents. “I don’t think we should be discouraging commercial customers by charging them like this,” Lee said.