Environment Report: San Diego ‘Better Have My Money’

The San Diego City Council’s debate over whether to raise water rates on 1.4 million people Tuesday promises to be brutal. San Diego’s independent budget analysts last week answered the question: What happens if City Council doesn’t raise rates? The answer was bad: The Public Utilities Department cuts 30 percent of its budget and cuts staff or defaults on loans.

There’s another question that deserves a look just in case stuff really goes haywire. San Diego City Councilmember Marni von Wilpert was so ticked off at the San Diego County Water Authority for its spiking prices back in January, she suggested the city stop paying its water bills.