Water and sewage rates are being adjusted in Grass Valley for the first time in 11 years. City officials say due to aging infrastructure and inflationary pressures, rates have fallen below the cost of providing service. A consulting firm was hired to do a study and came up with recommendations to the City Council at its Tuesday night meeting. Consultant Jordan Taylor said, in order to keep with with expenses, water rates for the most common residential use should increase by over 13-dollars over the next five years, or to 39-40 a month, starting with the 2023-2024 fiscal year…

click to listen to Jordan Taylor

But City Councilmember Bob Branstrom also wanted to make sure that there’s flexibility during seasons with below-normal precipitation…

click to listen to Bob Branstrom

Meanwhile, wastewater rates are proposed to drop slightly next year, or from 55-dollars to 52-76, for single family homes. But then there’d be slight increases over the following four years, or to 57-12 by 2027.