The Redding City Council took a formal step toward a possible utility rate increase by setting a public hearing for March 3, 2026, even as members pressed staff for more detail on rising personnel and operating costs.
During the discussion, council members questioned the utility’s personnel-cost growth, including a cited $8.9 million increase over one budget cycle, according to the meeting record. Staff said they could return with a more detailed five-year labor-cost breakdown before the public has its say on the proposal.
The hearing is the next procedural step in the rate-setting process, but the council did not approve the increase at this meeting.
Utility director Nick Zetland also presented the utility’s quarterly financial report and said the utility is ending an outside line-services contract early, which he said would free up about nine days of cash on hand.
The council’s action keeps the rate proposal moving forward, but key details remain unresolved, including the size of the proposed increase and which customer classes would be affected. The record provided for this decision also does not make clear what additional analysis staff will bring to the March hearing versus a May 26 workshop mentioned in the memo.