Despite objections, Pajaro/Sunny Mesa raise water rates.

When Pajaro/Sunny Mesa Community Services District came into existence in 1992, it consolidated three separate tiny water districts into one. Since then, the district has acquired five more small North County water systems.

A 38-percent rate hike approved Nov. 4 is designed to help transition all of that into a cohesive system. For the first time, all of Pajaro/Sunny Mesa’s 1,300 ratepayers will have the same rate structure, and they’ll be billed mostly based on usage to encourage conservation. The change is expected to generate $200,000 in annual revenue for the district.

Under California’s Proposition 218 rules, the district notified property owners of the rate change, and gave them 45 days to protest; of 637 protest letters required to block the change, just 90 were received.

One of those protests was filed by Paul and Darlene Lamboley of Prunedale. They don’t object to the rate change itself, but say the Prop. 218 process wasn’t fair: “We wouldn’t object if they did it with a vote,” Paul says. Because the district didn’t provide a protest form, they circulated one themselves to neighbors in their HOA.

They’re also dismayed the board is not elected; instead, board members are appointed by County Supervisor John Phillips. The Lamboleys’ Holly Hills home was annexed by Pajaro/Sunny Mesa earlier this year, meaning they’re now eligible to serve on the board.

Two board seats open up Nov. 30; only two people have expressed interest in serving. One was Darlene, who says she changed her mind after watching the Prop. 218 process: “It doesn’t pass the smell test.”