DAVIS, Calif. — The Davis City Council is poised to adopt a multiyear increase in solid waste utility rates after a Proposition 218 protest process failed to reach the threshold required to block the changes, according to a detailed staff report prepared for the council’s Jan. 6 meeting .
City staff reported that as of Jan. 2, the city clerk had received 30 unvalidated written protests to the proposed rate adjustments. Under state law, staff wrote that “approximately 7,581 validated protests would need to be received to successfully protest the proposed fees,” a benchmark that was not met .
If approved, the rate increases would take effect Feb. 1, 2026, and establish a five-year adjustment schedule intended to stabilize the city’s Solid Waste Fund. According to the report, “the proposed adjustments to solid waste rates will generate adequate revenue in the Solid Waste Fund (520) to provide solid waste services to ratepayers for the next 5 years” …