SAN DIEGO -- The cost of water is on the rise.

That doesn't mean people shouldn't pay attention to how they're being raised. A joint investigation with East County Magazine explains how some locals are fighting water rate increases they feel aren't fair.

When it comes to raising water rates, Californians have the power to approve or disapprove the proposed increases. La Mesa resident and customer of Helix Water District Kristin Kjaero knows that. It's called Prop 218.

"It provides adequate public scrutiny to make sure that things are done appropriately," said Kjaero.

Prop 218 was passed by voters in 1996 and was added to Article XIII of the state constitution. It protects Californians from excessive taxes and fees being passed by local agencies. It means citizens need to be notified in advance before certain rates go up, such as water rates. Affected residents can approve or disapprove the proposed increases.

"Up until now, they've been used to operating in the shadows," said Kjaero.

Other disgruntled residents point to a recent special meeting of the district’s board of directors.

"They're not doing a good job in engaging the public so that the public understands, and maybe give them input," said La Mesa resident Dexter Levy.

They say the special meeting's agenda was not clear and that customers did not know there would be changes to the water rate structure.

"First of all, on the agenda, there was no indication that single-family irrigation rates would be raised," said Kjaero.

Kjaero was personally affected by this rate change and joined others in filing a formal complaint against the water district.

A director of the Helix Water District also voiced concerns.

"I asked that question during the meeting, whether or not we notified all the customers who have the current irrigation meters installed -- if they were notified -- and my general manager said they were not," said Kathleen Coates Hedberg, Helix Water District director.

Another peculiar thing happened in that same special meeting. It's detailed in Kjaero's formal complaint:

"...three members of the board disappeared together behind closed doors. While we cannot prove that those directors unlawfully discussed the item or agreed how to deal with it in that nonpublic interval, we can see no other reason for calling a mid-course pre-vote recess..."

Mark Weston, Helix Water District general manager, said there was nothing sinister going on.

"It was a called recess to take a restroom break," said Weston.

A state expert on open meetings law said these complaints should be investigated.

"These kinds of developments at a single meeting to me seem to be extraordinary," said Terry Francke, legal counsel for Californians Aware.

Weston said they followed proper procedure, but planned a closed session for May 22 to talk about this with their attorney.

Helix Water District has issued the rate increase notice required by Prop 218 provisions for its next regular meeting on May 27. It is the final hearing on the proposed water rate increases.

However, the residents talking to the I-Team complain that the notice is confusing and inaccurate.

Helix Water District customers -- and in fact, anyone facing a proposed water rate increase -- have recourse. If more than 50 percent of the affected customers reject the proposed rates in writing, everything goes back to the drawing board.

Note:
The 10News I-Team worked in partnership with http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/ to break this story. It began when citizens attending the water board meeting contacted Miriam Raftery of the EastCountyMagazine.com about their concerns. She in turn contacted the I-Team, and the collaborative efforts resulted in this story.

UPDATE:
In the May 22 special meeting of the Helix Water District's board of directors, the complaints were discussed in a closed session and following that, there was a unanimous vote to cancel the upcoming May 27 rate increase hearing. The board also directed the district staff to scrap the current rate proposal and prepare a new one.

The goal is to have the new water rates in place by September 1. The district's water supply has already been cut and the wholesale cost will go up 15.4 percent on September 1, followed by a further 19.6 percent increase on January 1.