Any person, firm or corporation shall have the right to protest the rates established by the city council by filing a written protest with the city clerk, and such protest shall be considered and acted upon by the city council, and the protestant shall have the right to appear before the city council in person and state the reasons for such protest. The city council shall have the right to reconsider and increase the rates or decrease the rates, as may be determined by the city council, to provide a just and fair charge for utility services for each property within the city, so long as the rates are sufficient to make each utility self-sustaining. (1996 Code § 13.24.040)