Sewer fees to increase

The Orange County Sanitation District board of directors passed a proposal in a 17-6 vote to increase county sewer fees by increments of about $20 a year until 2013 — though not before a sizable crowd in attendance voiced nearly unanimous opposition to the proposal.

The increase will mean 61% higher fees for single-family residents, with a rising rate of about 10% annually.

The plan is championed by the district to help maintain sewer pipes and a safe infrastructural system, while continuing to provide the services residents expect.

Opponents call the raise unfair, saying its uniform cost disregards the number of residents in a home and their water consumption, as well placing an unwarranted strain on residents’ wallets.

General Manager Jim Ruth said that the measure was the product of careful consideration by the district.

“The public needs to understand that the Sanitation District maintains approximately $6 billion in assets, and many of them are 30-50 years in age,” he said. “It is our collective opinion that our organization has stretched our cost-saving measures to the point where it may no longer be feasible [to carry on].”

But Dennis Olson, of Fountain Valley, along with many others, remained unimpressed by the board’s assurances.

“It doesn’t sound like [a 10% rate was] thought out — it sounds like it was pulled out of a hat,” he said to applause. “Has anyone on this board thought to ask a question about the real costs this will mean for residents?”

Buena Park Representative Patsy Marshall, who said she lived on a fixed Social Security income, said she would feel the brunt of the raise too, but that it was necessary to safeguard county infrastructure.

“We don’t gain anything by passing this increase — but believe me, we have asked a lot of questions,” she said. “We’re voting what we think is in the best interests of our constituents.”

Cypress Representative Phil Luebben said he sympathized with the board’s detractors in the audience and said the plan wasn’t as equitable as he would prefer.

However, he added, the district’s hands were fiscally tied.

“I’d like to see this board consider alternate ways of charging residents,” he said. “But for the time being, we really don’t have any other way — I felt bad for every person that got up [to the podium] tonight, because I really don’t want to raise rates. None of us do.”

Others were not entirely in agreement: Fullerton Representative Don Bankhead said he would support the measure only if the annual increase were lowered to 8%.

“I have come to the conclusion that 10% for five years in a row is not logical at this time — I’d support a 10% increase for one year, but not five,” he said. “I think 10% is more than the public thinks is fair.”

Ultimately, the board needed a supermajority of 17 votes to pass the measure, and achieved it — though only after one board member changed their abstention to a “yes” vote, prompting some disappointed groans by those in attendance.

CHRIS CAESAR may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or at chris.caesar@latimes.com.