A public hearing on a proposed water rate change for 16,000 City of Thousand Oaks customers is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at city hall.

Afterward, the City Council is expected to vote on the proposal, which will likely raise water bills for the average consumer but lower them for large-lot residents.

The public can submit written protests on the proposed water rates to the city clerk through to the end of the public hearing.

If approved, the new rates will go into effect March 23.

The council approved a financial water plan in December that paved the way for the city to alter its three-tier rate system so that low-level consumers will pay slightly more per water unit and higher-quantity residential consumers slightly less than they are now.

Earlier, the council rejected a recommendation by a committee to return to a flat-rate plan. The committee favored the single rate because large-lot owners had complained of sky-high water bills since Thousand Oaks changed to a three-tier plan in 2009.

—Michelle Knight