No matter how often any given Buellton resident flushes their toilet, the monthly, fixed sewer rate for a single-family home increased by 95 percent between fiscal years 2025 and 2026—from a flat fee of $30.45 to $58.96.
July 1 marked the beginning of the next chapter in Buellton’s five-year plan to improve its wastewater reserve fund by gradually increasing sewer usage rates each fiscal year through 2030.
Enacted with a 5-0 vote from the Buellton City Council on June 25, the second batch of water bill increases went into effect on July 1. The shift bumped up the monthly $58.96 sewer rate for single-family homes to $82.54.
Despite the previous fiscal year’s increase, the city’s sewer expenditures for July 2025 to June 2026 exceeded its sewer rate revenue by nearly $400,000.
“When you look at the wastewater [stats], our revenues only came in at $1.5 million and our expenditures came in at $1.9 million,” Buellton Public Works Director Rose Hess told the council at its June 25 meeting. “So, we still took from our wastewater reserve fund and put it toward our expenditures.”
Hess added that within the five-year phase, staff estimated that Buellton “won’t really see the final impact” of improving the city’s wastewater reserve fund until fiscal year 2030. City Manager Scott Wolfe agreed.
“What we’re presenting to you right here is simply justification to the council, to the public, that that rate increase schedule that was adopted last year is still justified and should be moving forward,” Wolfe said. “While it’s clear that numbers are lower than what was projected, even if the numbers had been right on with the projection, that would still have indicated a need to increase the rates further.”
Mayor David Silva said that the council shouldn’t be surprised by the progress report that staff presented.
“We were, or were on our way to being, negative for the sewer rates. So, the intention is to have the revenues exceed expenses in a way that allows us to build those reserves back up,” Silva said. “It’s not just about breaking even. We do need … to build up the reserves that historically we were draining.”
After Councilmember Carla Mead motioned to approve the second fiscal year implementation of wastewater rate increases effective July 1, Councilmember Elysia Lewis seconded. The motion passed 5-0.
As drafted and adopted in 2025 via the five-year plan, the flat sewer charge for single-family homes is scheduled to reach $103.66 by fiscal year 2030.
This article appears in July 2 – July 9, 2026.
