Barbara Diamond
An estimated 240 Laguna Beach single-family detached households will
begin paying $6.50 less per month than others for their sewer service
in July.
The City Council voted 4-0, Mayor Pro Tem Steven Dicterow absent,
at the June 7 meeting to approve a reduction in the sewer rate for
ultra-low water users from $35 a month to $29. The remaining
single-family detached households, approximately 6,000, will see a
slight monthly increase, from $35 a month to $35.50.
Prior to the change approved by the council, the city charged a
flat rate of $33.83 a month, regardless of dwelling or lot size,
number of residents or water usage. The fees raised about $2.5
million a year.
Owners of smaller homes complained that they were subsidizing
larger properties and asked that rates be adjusted accordingly.
The city received nine protests against the proposed rate
structure out of the households given notice of the proposal. Only
five residents showed up for a workshop held in February.
As the name makes clear, ultra-low water users use less water. The
average customer uses 1,200 cubic units a month. Ultra-low water use
is calculated at one-fourth the monthly volume of the average use.
Individual property use of the sewage system cannot be identified
so easily, according to Assistant City Manager John Pietig. Water use
can be tracked because homes have meters, he said, but there is no
way to track how much of the water goes into the sewer system or
landscaping.
"How do you count how many times a toilet is flushed?" Mayor
Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider said.
The city provides wastewater collection and disposal services --
sewage collection and treatment, as well as water service -- north of
Nyes Place. South Coast Water District, which bills on a tiered
system, provides sewer and water service south of Nyes Place, the
city's southern boundary before South Laguna was annexed.
Charges for city sewer services will continue to appear annually
on tax bills.
"If the rates are not on the tax rolls, it increases the cost,"
City Manager Ken Frank said.
The new rates will appear on the 2005-06 property tax bill.
Farrington new VP of Hospital Foundation
Martha A. Farrington, J.D., became the newly appointed Vice
President for Development at South Coast Medical Center and Executive
Director of the SCMC Foundation in early May.
Farrington, who had been serving as interim executive director of
the foundation for the past seven months, was appointed to her
