The board devoted about two hours Tuesday morning to a hearing and discussion over the proposed fee increases, which would raise the base charge for single family dwellings from $11.13 per month to $26.08, with staggered charges for light-, medium- and high-strength commercial, as Lake County News has reported.
Lake County Special Districts is proposing a $5.4 million upgrade that would include a new pump station and a new four-mile pipeline for the system, which stretches from Lower Lake to Clear Lake. The $11.13 increase includes $3.37 per month for operations, $3.60 for the capital improvement program and $4.16 for debt service.
Special Districts Administrator Mark Dellinger and his fiscal officer, Jan Coppinger, presented the justifications for the increase to the board and explained the plans, which Dellinger said will eliminate the system's capacity issues.
The system has had repeated spills in recent years, which have resulted in state fines and regulatory actions, he said.
During the discussion and hearing board members and the public alike would quiz Dellinger and Coppinger about the possibility of grants, which they said had been pursued.
Supervisor Jeff Smith, in whose district the system is located, said the system went “upside down” by $400,000 last year and $600,000 the year before.
“If we keep going that way before long our reserves are gone,” he said, acknowledging that it's a tough time to ask for rate increases.
Still, Board Chair Anthony Farrington asked why Special Districts didn't draw the reserves down more in order to keep the hike lower. Dellinger said he was worried about being able to respond to emergencies and increased costs, such as the system's state permit which has risen from $19,000 annually to $40,000 in the space of a year.
He told the board, “We're going as low as we can.”
Coppinger told the board that they may be able to roll the increase back after the bonding for the project moves forward.
Smith pointed out that a consultant who studied the system's rate structure had suggested they double the rates.
He said past boards have struggled with how to keep the system's rates low while dealing with its operations and infrastructure. If the county doesn't act now, he said, they're going to have to raise rates again and it will be worse.
Farrington suggested during the discussion that Special Districts pull money earmarked for other systems and use it for the upgrades to keep the rates down.
Supervisor Rob Brown asked about renegotiating with the city of Clearlake to ask city leaders to put redevelopment money toward the project.
Such negotiations had been going on earlier this year, with the proposed agreement calling for the city to put up half of the cost. But the city called them off in April, as Lake County News has reported. At that time, City Administrator Dale Neiman said the city didn't know if it would have a shopping center project to benefit from the upgrades, and additionally laid total responsibility for the system's upkeep on the county.
Brown asked Dellinger what kind of flexibility they had to look at other options. “I guess it depends on what the specifics would be,” Dellinger replied.
Supervisor Denise Rushing said the hearing was the result of a very long process the county has been through. She said she wouldn't support reducing the reserves any further in the Southeast Regional system, with its aging infrastructure. She also was concerned that construction prices would go up if they weren't locked in soon.
During public comment, the board heard mostly complaints from people who said they couldn't pay higher bills, with some of them also accusing the county of mismanaging the district.
Cheri Holden, who chairs the Sierra Club Lake Group, said the group supports the project although it's dismayed rates have to go up.
However, “The environmental impact of not going ahead with this project is profound,” as would be the resulting economic impacts, she said.
Clearlake businesswoman Jeri Spittler agreed they needed to move forward with upgrades but she said she and other businesses along Lakeshore Drive already are holding on by a thread at the end of four years of what she said had seen no tourist trade.
Noting that her sewer fees equal her electric bills, Spittler said, “I don't think we can endure another increase.”
Coppinger said Special Districts was working on equity in the increases, and pointed out that light-strength commercial will see a $9 per month increase to its base cost, as opposed to $11.13 for single family dwellings.
Richard Birk of Habitat for Humanity said the group has about a dozen homes in the area that would be affected, and that it would be hard on a community with already high unemployment.
He said he was surprised Special Districts hadn't pressed Congressman Mike Thompson's office for assistance. “They've heard from us on this issue,” replied Dellinger, who said there are other projects around the county vying for funds.
“The demands are much larger than the available funds,” Dellinger said.
Clearlake resident Bill Marshall accused the county of mismanaging the system from the beginning and passing the buck. “It's been a money pit from day one.”
Another ratepayer, Eddie Ricketts, suggested, “Let's fix the system but let's not keep slapping the homeowners.”
He questioned if the roughly 3,000 new hookups the system would provide have been figured into the repayment equation. Special Districts said no. He also questioned the monthly capital improvement fee of $3.60, which Dellinger said would be used for ongoing system upgrades.
Brown took issue with an individual in the audience who he said was “popping off” and making accusations against staff.
“The comment of mismanagement is not incorrect,” said Brown, noting that staff and Dellinger's predecessor had come to previous boards asking for money to fix the system's problems.
“For the last 10 years we've been working on this,” he said.
Any mismanagement, suggested Brown, came in the form of past boards that didn't have the political will to raise the rates to avoid the kinds of problems the system is now experiencing. Now they're trying to get caught up so 30 years from now the county won't be having this discussion.
The board also heard from a Lower Lake woman who said she is disabled and began to cry as she insisted that she couldn't afford any higher bills, otherwise she would be on the street.
Farrington, stating, “It's prudent for us to turn every stone,” said he wouldn't support the increase without sitting down for a joint session with the Clearlake City Council.
Rushing said they could agree that the system is in dire shape and that many residents and businesses can't afford higher fees, but she said they also were trying to get the best price possible on the upgrades. She suggested moving forward, getting prices locked in while going after unexplored funding options.
Mireya Turner, the clerk of the board, tabulated protest letters the county received, which totaled 62, just a fraction of the 3,354 needed to stop the increases from going forward.
The board then directed staff to set up the joint session with Clearlake officials.
County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox told Lake County News late Tuesday that he e-mailed Neiman to schedule the meeting, but he didn't yet know when it would take place. He said scheduling conflicts will prevent it from taking place between Sept. 17 and Oct. 2.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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