District Is Flush, So Sewer Service Is on the House

This just doesn’t happen. A utility company announcing to 6,000 customers that service this year is on the house?

About 6,000 homeowners and businesses in Dana Point got that word Thursday: their 1996-97 bill for sewer service, about $140 for the average household, instead would be zero. The Dana Point Sanitary District would pick it up.

Peter W. Barotti, the board chairman, said the district’s directors voted last month to offer a credit to all its customers, because recent upgrades in the sewage treatment plant were completed under budget, with money left over.

“We had some money set aside for capital improvements . . . that we didn’t spend,” said Barotti, 62, an engineer. “There was a good sum of dollars left. We figured rather than put it back in the coffers and bury it somewhere else, we’d just give it back to the people who paid it in the first place.”

Barotti said he didn’t know exactly how much money was left over, but that it “was a lot less than we are giving back. We had to take some out of reserves to make this happen.” Dana Point City Councilman Bill Ossenmacher, who received one of the non-bills, was amazed.

“It’s incredible that a public agency is actually turning money back to the public rather than blowing it on some scheme,” Ossenmacher said. “I think it’s great.”

In a letter to customers, Barotti said, “We are happy to provide our customers with such good news, and we are proud of our ability to manage large capital projects and daily operations.”

But it closed with a note that the free ride ends at the end of the fiscal year.

“This is a onetime good deal,” Barotti said.