Santa Barbara Council to Weigh Rate Hikes for Water, Sewer and Trash Services

If approved, the new fees for residential customers would go into effect July 1

MarBorg Industries became the only trash and recycling hauler in Santa Barbara after purchasing its main competitor, Allied Waste Services, last summer.
MarBorg Industries became the only trash and recycling hauler in Santa Barbara after purchasing its main competitor, Allied Waste Services, last summer. (Lara Cooper / Noozhawk file photo)

By Giana Magnoli, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @magnoli | Published on 06.11.2012 6:37 p.m.

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The Santa Barbara City Council will decide during a public hearing Tuesday whether to increase utility fees.

The city is considering a 3.5 percent increase for water service and usage fees, a 10 percent increase for sewer rates and a 2.69 percent increase for all trash rates.

If approved, the higher fees — a few dollars more monthly for average residential customers — would go into effect July 1 along with the rest of the 2012-13 budget.

Water rate increases would go toward replacing water mains, rehabilitating the recycled water filtration system and maintaining the treatment facility, according to a staff report.

Sewer, or wastewater, fees are going up 6 percent because of a lawsuit settled with Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, which resulted in an agreement to pay for an extra $5 million in sewer line replacement over the next five years. That’s on top of the planned 4 percent increase to pay for an ongoing capital program.

The Tajiguas Landfill is charging higher “tipping fees” for trash loads to be dropped off, and the city is paying more for its contract with MarBorg Industries, leading to the proposed fee hikes for solid waste collection.

MarBorg and the city are in negotiations for a new contract, and if agreed to, MarBorg would waive the 1.38 percent Consumer Price Index raise for 2013, according to the staff report.

Tuesday’s council meeting will begin at 2 p.m. at City Hall, 735 Anacapa St.

— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.

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» Overtaxed Taxpayer on 06.11.12 @ 10:38 PM

This is another rate increase for their high union wages and perks, and they never seem to find ways to cut waste??—No new taxes or fees right now.

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» lou segal on 06.12.12 @ 03:14 AM

I will be watching to see who votes for these increased fees and will remember to vote accordingly in the next election. It seems like my city utility bills go up every year. Do they think the residents have an endless supply of money to fork over to them to pay for their gross incompetence and mismanagement of the city finances.

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» 14noscams on 08.29.12 @ 05:05 PM

What about the 60% increase in late fees that disfunctional city hall didn’t mention? What misconduct by city officials are we paying for now - litigation against criminal conduct by SBPD, litigation against the city for city attorney Wiley’s retaliation against Kasi Beutel’s crime victims and witnesses, penalties for Schneider misrepresenting her personal ballot initiative for another tax increase as Mayor Schneider rather than as Helene Schneider, an individual? I’m sure they can think up several contradictory excuses.

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