A split Turlock City Council endorsed a water rate increase Tuesday night, after a meager turnout in a citywide election on the rate hike. The rate hike will see monthly water bills nearly double by 2019 for the average household, from $24 to $47. The average Turlocker will see his or her monthly bill increase by roughly $4 at each of six dates: July 1, Jan. 1 2015, then every July 1 thereafter through 2019. The ordinance amendment will come back for a final reading – and final vote – on April 8. That vote will be largely ceremonial; votes during final readings seldom differ from those to introduce ordinances.
