WHILE UTILITY HIKES are a regular occurrence for San Jose residents, an especially sharp jump in garbage disposal fees and water rates have led to pushback amid growing concern over rising living costs.
Under new fee schedules set to take effect July 1, the start of fiscal year 2026-27, San Jose’s garbage disposal service fee will increase 7% for single-family households and 4% for multifamily households. In addition, water rates charged by San Jose Municipal Water System, the city’s water supplier that serves 140,000 residents, will jump roughly 4%. Meanwhile, the charge rate for sewer usage will increase a more modest 3%.
Officials said the rising rates reflect higher prices charged by the city’s garbage disposal contractors and water wholesalers. However, with residents already facing financial pressure from multiple directions, including steep prices at the pump, this year’s rate increases have raised questions about the city’s plans to rein in long-term costs.
“The pain of across-the-board utility rate increases is borne by us,” Gary Hector, an Oak Canyon resident and local landlord, told San José Spotlight. “The city seems to be too willing, almost happy, to pass along the higher costs.”
The inflation effect
San Jose Environmental Services Director Jeffrey Provenzano said increased rates are unavoidable because utility providers are facing the same inflationary price pressure as residents.
“The city of San Jose understands that many residents are dealing with higher costs, from gas and groceries to housing and utilities,” Provenzano told San José Spotlight. “The same reasons why our costs are going up at home also result in higher costs for the utilities. The rate changes are necessary to collect enough money to continue to operate the utilities, provide reliable service and support continued improvements that protect the health of our residents.”
For a typical home with a 64-gallon waste disposal bin, the monthly increase to the garbage and recycling service rate amounts to an increase of $7.63, bringing the total charge to $116.65. City officials said the rate increase is driven by the increased operating costs faced by waste haulers due to inflation.
“The same reasons why our costs are going up at home also result in higher costs for the utilities.”
Jeffrey Provenzano, San Jose Environmental Services Director
San Jose contracts with several waste hauling companies for garbage, recycling and yard trimmings, each of which serves different parts of the city. The companies’ contracts include clauses that automatically increase prices when operating expenses, such as labor and fuel, go up, officials said.
As for water rate increases, the changes will vary by customer location and water usage. A typical home in the Evergreen or Edenvale neighborhoods is expected to see their monthly water bill increase about $6.60 to a total of $151.54, according to a city memo. Officials said the changes are related to the increased cost of purchasing water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Valley Water. San Jose Municipal Water System is one of three water suppliers in the city, with service areas covering the North San Jose, Alviso and Coyote Valley areas.
Council support not unanimous
When the rate increases came before the City Council at its June 2 meeting, the proposals met pushback from residents and councilmembers. District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan, who joined with the minority of councilmembers who voted against several rate increases, urged the city to look for ways to bring costs into check.
“The city should ensure that every reasonable opportunity for operational efficiency and cost control have been explored,” Doan said at the meeting. “Ratepayers should have confidence that costs are being managed effectively before they are asked to absorb the increase that substantially exceed inflation.”
In the past, San Jose has sought to blunt such increases with the use of reserve funds. But Provenzano told councilmembers when it comes to waste disposal, such reserves are not sufficient to absorb the expected cost increases in the coming year.
Meanwhile, Valley Water officials have said the agency expects wholesale water rates to continue to increase over the next 10 years at a rate of roughly 7% each year, according to city officials.
Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County CEO Don Taylor, who leads an organization that provides services to low-income South Bay residents, said the fee increases will fall especially hard on those least able to pay.
“It absolutely impacts those most in need on their pocketbooks, where they just don’t have the margin or flexibility to to be able to pay more,” Taylor told San José Spotlight. “When food prices are up, and then you get these extra increases, it becomes unsustainable for some families.”
Contact Keith Menconi at keith@sanjosespotlight.com or @KeithMenconi on X.
This story originally appeared in San Jose Spotlight.