Panel Opposes DWP’s Proposed 11% Rate Hike

A Los Angeles City Council committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to oppose a proposed 11% increase in the city’s water rates and recommended that the Department of Water and Power return with a proposal that would keep a rate hike under 7%.

The full council will vote on the measure today, and both council and DWP staff members are anticipating that the 11% proposal will be rejected. The DWP has scheduled an emergency meeting of commissioners for Friday to reconsider the rate request.

Already the DWP has cut more than $45 million from its budget and instituted a hiring freeze. Any further cuts would require layoffs, officials said. The DWP sought the rate hike to make up a $70-million deficit caused by the water conservation program, which lowered sales by 30%.