Recommendation R4
The Napa County Civil Grand Jury recommends that St. Helena’s City Council should implement a water rate fee structure with differentiated rates based on the customer’s location (inside city limits vs. outside city limits) and the customer’s type (residential vs. commercial), as well as assessing surcharges for customers in elevated locations and surcharges for the Outside Service Area Agreement customers benefiting from Measure H by September 30, 2026.
Jury report: Lapsed Leadership: St. Helena’s Problematic Pipes and Murky Waters · PDF page 27
Permanent linkOfficial response
City of St. Helena City Council
Agency says further analysis neededRequires further analysis. Pages 18–19 promise analysis and next steps by December 22, 2026, with any further rate study conditional. Says resulting revisions would not finish before approximately July 1, 2027; OSAA surcharges will be renegotiated as contracts renew.
Read official response · PDF page 18Analysis is not adopted differentiated rates. July 1, 2027 is an earliest-feasibility statement, not a completion deadline. Legal and contractual limitations remain attributed.
- Evaluate legal, contractual, cost-of-service, operational and public-process requirements and present results and recommended next steps to Council. Owner: City of St. Helena City Manager and staff. Timing: 2026-12-22.
- Pursue renegotiation of OSAA surcharge provisions as individual agreements renew, within applicable legal and contract limits. Owner: City of St. Helena City Manager and staff. Timing: As individual OSAA agreements come up for renewal, within Proposition 218 and existing contract limits.
This review evaluates the response document. Implementation claims have not been independently verified.