Sewer tax not at forefront

Barbara Diamond Coastline Pilot

Five residents showed up Saturday to the Water Quality

Department’s workshop on possible revisions to the city’s sewer tax

for single-family homes.<252>”I wasn’t surprised,” department

head David Schissler said. “I can only recall six or eight telephone

calls to complain.”<252>Schissler will present sewer tax

options, including input from the public meeting, to the City Council

in March. <252>Options run the gamut from a tiered system based

on water usage and fixed city costs, about 79 percent of the total,

with a cap, to a tiered system based on low, medium and high water

usage. <252>”We don’t want to have a billing system that

doesn’t take fixed costs into consideration,” Schissler said. “That

is not good planning. We have to have a predictable revenue stream

and residents should be able to predict their bills.”<252>The

city charges a flat sewer fee, billed with property taxes.

<252>”It is ridiculous that I pay the same rate as a mansion

with six bathrooms and a big lawn,” South Laguna resident Eleanor

Henry said.<252>She is frugal with her water, draining the

washing machine in her small home to water plants.

<252>However, Schissler said, home size is not always the best

indicator of water usage. One resident inside a 6,000 square-foot

home that takes up the whole lot might use less water than a large

family in a small home with an average yard. <252>”You just

can’t fairly bring up comparisons between large homes and cottages,”

Schissler said.<252>There will be some inequities no matter

what fee system is used, according to Schissler. <252> “I

attended the workshop and the proposed increase in sewer taxes would

basically increase my property taxes by one-third,” John Kountz said.

<252>Kountz owns his property outright and his property tax is

among the lowest in Laguna, Schissler said. <252>”Consequently,

the sewer fee is a larger percentage of the property tax for him,”

Schissler said. <252>Schissler said the council will hold a

public hearing on the options prepared by the Water Quality

Department and then put it out for a protest vote -- unless the

council opts to do nothing. <252>Any rate change would affect

about 6,100 single family homes. Multi-family homes have not been

included in the proposed program.