LAKE COUNTY — The county Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to have a hard look at water and sewer rates in its 14 County Service Areas (CSAs) throughout the county.
District 4 Supervisor Anthony Farrington brought the item before the board originally as a discussion of consolidating the CSAs. The proposal was met with some missgivings, but the idea of rate analysis was welcomed.
Farrington said Tuesday that his primary concern was for the financial operation of the districts, and that the county”s governing body needed to take a proactive approach.
“Usually when a local politician has to make a decision, it”s through a personal commitment, and they have three options: one of raising the water billing rates to provid needed funds to make the necessary system upgrades or repairs, two, they can raise taxes either through a direct tax or perhaps through a bond issue in order to provide the funds necessary to the water system, or three, they can postpone the decisions about a water system this year and take a look at the problem next year. It seems to be the most expedient it”s a no-brainer that number three is usually the choice of most politicians.” Special Districts Director Mark Dellinger said an analysis “makes good business sense.” His department manages the 14 different CSAs.
The next step is for Farrington and Dellinger along with other county officials from the administrative and public works departments to develop a Request for Proposals to be sent out to consulting firms.
What they are looking for is a rate analysis, specifically from the angle of how to meet future improvement needs. Consolidation of the CSAs, said Farrington, may not be the solution.
Farrington brought up a particular concern in North Lakeport, which falls in his district. He said a loan obligation for the construction of a water treatment facility was being met despite the fact that not all property owners were paying the assessment.
“From the very beginning, the construction of the loan payback based on the assessments was flawed,” Farrington said.
In addition, said Farrington, a yearly $500,000 in tobacco settlement monies used to pay back the loan has not been used for that purpose because the BOS raised monthly rates 56 percent.
Farrington said he had concerns that the rates were “artificially high,” and that similar situations might be occurring in other CSAs. “I”m concerned that it”s happening everywhere, where (rates) may be too high in some places, in some places not high enough.”
The collaborative effort to develop an RFP to go out to consulting firms might take a couple of months. When proposals come back, said Farrington, they should include a price tag. The county will take up the issue of feasibility at that time.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
