Voters approve repealing Oxnard’s wastewater rate hike

A ballot measure to reverse Oxnard’s recent wastewater rate increase has passed with 72-percent of the vote.
That means voters overwhelming voted in favor of repealing the city’s increased wastewater rates adopted in January.

The wastewater increase battle has been playing out for more than a year now. Aaron Starr of ‘Moving Oxnard Forward’ is the man who initiated and promoted the campaign to fight the rate increase. Starr says his team is pleased with the results.

“I think an 87-percent rate increase is abusive. People understood that and they didn’t see other cities increasing their rates like Oxnard is and they thought perhaps the city is mismanaging the money and their turning to the citizens rather than themselves for solutions,” said Starr.

The city of Oxnard is currently suing Starr for putting the measure on the ballot. In a previous statement the city said it is suing Starr because the repeal would put “wastewater rates too low, and forces the city to violate its contractual obligations.”

The City of Oxnard’s city manager Greg Nyhoff released the following statement on the passing of Measure M Wednesday afternoon:

“The ordinance repealing the wastewater rate increase will be adopted on the date the Oxnard City Council declares the election results. The repeal will go into effect 10 days later.

We are working closely with our financial advisers to evaluate the ramifications of the passage of Measure M to our finances, financial stakeholders and infrastructure. We will present a report to the city council and the public on November 29 to offer a fuller picture of the impacts. The city council is expected to make a decision on how to proceed within the next few weeks.”