After hearing from numerous rental owners and managers, the San Carlos City Council has reduced sewer rates for owners of multi-family housing by nearly 15 percent.

The new rates take effect July 1.

The council’s 4-1 vote on the issue came during its Monday, June 23 meeting. The lone no vote came from a council member who wanted a more modest, 6 percent rate reduction.

After negotiating with the city for over a year, CAA and a coalition of San Carlos rental property owners secured the new pricing model. CAA Tri-County demonstrated that the current rate structure that charged a studio apartment the same rate as a three-bedroom home with a pool was unfair.

This marked the first time that San Carlos commissioned a study to determine a modified rate structure and created a new category for multi-family housing.

The rate reduction would have not been possible without the grassroots support of CAA Tri-County members. Many wrote letters supporting the rate reduction, attended the City Council meeting or both to advocate for the reduction.

San Carlos rental owners felt that this was a fair compromise and would translate into immediate savings. Moreover, some council members felt this action could alleviate pressures of rising rents in San Carlos by bringing fees under control.

By the numbers

What rental housing owners in San Carlos would have had to pay for sewer services under the city’s old rate — and what they’ll actually pay under the new rate — over the next two years:

	Year starting July 1, 2014	Year starting July 1, 2015
Old rate	$968.95	$1,065.85
New rate	$833.30	$916.63
Savings	$135.65	$149.22

* Figures are per-unit