LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Lakeport City Council will consider delaying its sewer rate increases when it meets this week.

The council meeting, which also is a joint meeting with the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District, will begin at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1, in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

The main item of business for the council is a proposed resolution to delay the increase in monthly service charge increases for sewer rates from Jan. 1, 2014, to July 1, 2014.

Last October, the city council, sitting jointly as the City of Lakeport Municipal Sewer District Board, adopted a resolution to establish new sewer rates, fees and charges, as Lake County News has reported.

Public Works Director Mark Brannigan's report for the meeting explains that the council directed staff to postpone the implementation date for the rate increase to July 1 and look into ways to assist the commercial customer classification for the required volume charge.

At the July 16 council meeting, the council passed Resolution No. 2478 was passed to provide the commercial customer with 10 units of usage before a volume charge was applied, Brannigan said.

Brannigan said that although the council directed the initial sewer rate increase to occur on July 1, “its direction to staff regarding the future annual increases was ambiguous” and Resolution No. 2463 (2012) and Resolution No. 2478 (2013) included Jan. 1, 2014 as the next scheduled increase.

The proposed resolution provides a full 12 months between the July 1 implementation of the sewer rate increases by amending Resolution No. 2463 (2012) and Resolution No. 2478 (2013), Brannigan said.

He said the proposed resolution would provide an additional six months and have the proposed rate increase on July 1, 2014, and continuing on July 1 thereafter through 2017.

On the consent agenda – items considered noncontroversial and usually accepted on one vote – are ordinances; the warrant register for Sept. 18; minutes of the Sept. 17 meeting; review and approve the city’s response to the 2012-13 Lake County Civil Grand Jury Oversight report regarding the Lakeport Police Department; approve Application 2013-017 for the Clear Lake High School Homecoming parade on Oct. 11; approve Application 2013-018 for the Harvest Revelation Block Party on Mellor Drive, sponsored by the Eternally Wired Youth Ministry on Oct. 31.

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