Background

The City of Folsom is proud to provide high quality water and wastewater services. By law, the city may not collect more revenue than is necessary to cover the annual costs to provide these services, including all costs and revenues related to operational programs and capital improvement programs (CIP).

The city last completed a water and wastewater rate study in 2019.  The Environmental and Water Resources Department continues to monitor revenues and program costs on an annual basis.  At this time, the city will complete a cost of service study to validate that the current residential and non-residential revenues accurately reflect the actual cost of service.  It is important to maintain and update our financial model to analyze all costs and revenues. 

The Rate Study Process

The City of Folsom will begin public discussions on a water and sewer rate study on October 21, 2025, at the city’s Utility Commission meeting. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Folsom City Hall in the Council Chambers. The rate study will prepare a five-year and ten-year financial model to review operations and maintenance expenses, capital expenses, and revenue requirements to support water and sewer expenses. The consultant team will develop a cost-of-service analysis that will allocate costs amongst the various customer classes between fixed and volumetric charges. Base on the cost-of-service analysis results, the consultant team may recommend proposed changes to the city’s current rate structure. Any recommendations will be presented to City Council in the summer of 2026. The City Council will then provide direction to city staff to proceed or not proceed with any rate changes. 

Project Updates

City staff will update this page during the rate study process to include:

• Recordings of presentations to the Utility Commission and to City Council. 
• Answers to frequently asked questions.
• A rate calculator (available in spring/summer 2026) to help calculate potential impacts resulting from the rate recommendations.

Project Schedule

On July 9, 2025, city staff and the consultant attended a project kick-off meeting to discuss the project background and objectives.

Public Outreach

The city will provide opportunities for public feedback and engagement during the rate study process. City staff and the consultant will develop presentations and reports to explain the data and guide ratepayers through the steps of the rate analysis.

Upcoming outreach opportunities will include:

• A weekend workshop.
• Four presentations to the Utility Commission.
• Three presentations to City Council.

Presentations

Frequently Asked Questions