‘Undemocratic and unconstitutional.’ Los Osos residents oppose sewer rate increase vote
Some Los Osos residents argue that a San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors vote on significant sewer rate increases over the next five years should be postponed.
Critics say they haven’t had a fair opportunity to organize a protest amid coronavirus shelter-at home orders — and they’re facing economic hardships.
The board will review the proposed sewer rate increase at its meeting Tuesday.
Supervisor Bruce Gibson, whose district covers Los Osos, believes the process is fair under the circumstances and said implementing the rate increases could be delayed until after the COVID-19 emergency order is lifted.
Sewer rates now cost the average ratepayer with a single-family home $167.22 per month.
If rate increases are implemented as proposed, in incremental annual hikes over the next five years, those ratepayers would pay 6% more for each of the next two years and 3% more in each of the following three years, culminating in total costs of $199.47 per month by 2024 to 2025.
Business owners would pay even higher percentage rate increases, with a chart showing $61.13 per account in current charges for non-residential customers, incrementally climbing to $290.45 by 2024 to 2025. Those rates don’t include the volume water charges (how much water per month is processed by the sewer system), which vary substantially for non-residential connections.
Los Osos residents object to supervisor vote on rate increases
Some Los Osos residents say their inability to speak to supervisors face to face in public comment and hindrances on campaigning amid coronavirus precautions are cause for a delay.
The county is taking public comment in the form of mail, email, a pre-recorded phone call or live phone call at the meeting. But speakers won’t be allowed to address board members in chambers because of the shelter-at-home order.
“This is undemocratic and unconstitutional,” said Julie Tacker, a Los Osos resident. “We’ve all been disenfranchised by not being able to campaign out in public. They should postpone the meeting, just like so many other things that are being postponed now.”
Tacker doesn’t live within the boundaries of the sewer service area. But she worries about the potential economic toll on the community, and how costs would be passed on to local business consumers and renters to help cover them.
Los Osos resident Ron Stanovich, who lives in the service area, also believes the hearing should be delayed.
“We need a good democratic way of doing this,” Stanovich said. “You need to be able to face your accuser. And we also need a forensic accounting of exactly what costs they have. At some point, these rates will price good people out of the community.”
Some community members submitted letters to the county, including a resident who cited a potential lack of technology access in the community.
“As a longtime Los Osos resident, the planned April 21st ‘virtual’ hearing must be delayed at least until the current economic downturn is stabilized,” wrote Ted Emrick. “Plus, it’s more than likely a majority of Los Osos residents, especially seniors, don’t have the digital skill sets required to participate in a virtual meeting. Many don’t even have internet connections.”
SLO County supervisor says sewer costs exceed revenue
But Gibson said that he believes the sewer rate increase process has been conducted fairly, citing a public forum held in January to discuss the rate proposal with residents.
Gibson said mailers have been sent out to each household, giving residents the opportunity to reply. If more than 50% vote against the rate hike, the fee increase can’t be implemented under the rate protest law, Proposition 218.
“We’ve been engaged in the discussion with the community for a long time before COVID,” Gibson said. “We conducted outreach at an advisory council in November. We held a special public meeting in January and we made ourselves available for that kind of discussion. We have had robust discussion in recent days and weeks.”
While the supervisor said he has heard complaints of incompetence and inefficient staffing, Gibson said the county runs a “lean operation” and believes that accounting has been transparent.
“The community has done an extraordinary job of conserving water,” Gibson said. “But that has decreased flows to the plant and increased costs to operate.”
Gibson said in January that the county hasn’t changed the rates and charges in 10 years, and costs are outpacing revenues.
“And we’ve been in operation now for about four years (since the construction of the new wastewater treatment plant),” Gibson said. “Simply put, we aren’t able to cover all of our service costs. These are the facts.”
Debate over a Los Osos rate hike
Initial estimates for the Los Osos Community Service District project before the county took over showed that single-family households would have to pay about $200 per month — the same as the rate increase amount by 2024-2025, Gibson said, adding that low-interest loans help keep costs down.
County officials say they made the estimates based on water-use projections, which is an imperfect process, but now the actual data has informed their budget needs.
“We made both customer usage and cost estimates in 2010 to run the system,” said John Diodati, interim director for public works, in January. “Now that we’ve been running the plant, we have actual data and need to re-calibrate our rate to align with those real usage numbers and costs.”
Rate increase opponents, however, believe now is not the time for the county to move forward.
“We all understand we are in a time of unprecedented economic turmoil with many people having lost jobs, which may not return, with almost everyone concerned about financial stability and worried about personal safety,” wrote Los Osos resident Elaine Watson. “The proposed rates are very substantial for everyone and will be a hardship for many property owners, but will be especially challenging for the business community who were already operating on a thin margin.”
“Few will likely survive the closure and those that may will likely not be solvent enough to absorb the proposed astronomical sewer increases,” Watson said.
Gibon said in a April 6 Facebook post, however, he sympathizes with the economic situation.
“My colleagues and I are quite aware of the current economic challenges our residents face,” Gibson wrote via Facebook.
“This path was chosen because other options would eventually cost the ratepayers even more.”
“If the rate increase passes, the Board of Supervisors will be presented the opportunity to delay imposing the rate increase until the COVID-19 emergency is declared over,” he noted, “and I expect it will be approved.”
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