Standing Committee: First Water & Sewer Rate Study Session Thursday

April 12, 2017
Santa Paula News

The public will have a chance to attend the first Santa Paula Water & Sewer Rate Study session Thursday at City Hall.

The April 13 meeting will be held at City Hall Council Chambers, 970 E. Ventura St. starting at 2 p.m.

Those who wish will be able to offer public comment at the beginning of the meeting.

The city council recently accepted across the board rate increases on fees charged for services ranging from fire inspections to building permits.

Water and sewer fees were not included in the mix of approved increases and are being studied separately.

The council at the March 20 meeting approved the members of the Standing Committee to address water and sewer rates.

The council selected Mayor Jenny Crosswhite and Councilman Martin Hernandez for the new committee, which replaces a former Ad Hoc Committee established by the previous council.

That Ad Hoc Committee had a public workshop and thereafter met in private to consider water and wastewater issues including rates paid by residents. 

An Ad Hoc Committee is formed for a specific task or objective, and is dissolved after the completion of the task or achievement of the objective. The previous Ad Hoc Committee never reported back with findings. 

Standing Committees have a continued existence that are not related to the accomplishment of a specific, once only task as are ad hoc or special committees.

Now, as a Standing Committee with no deadline or timeline, the city’s meetings dealing with water and sewer rates will be noticed and open to the public. 

The council adopted the resolution establishing the Water and Sewer Rate Committee as a standing committee in February; the committee is responsible for recommendations to the full council for the methodology and policies used in setting sewer and water rates, the operation and maintenance of the city’s sewer and water infrastructure, including the Water Recycling Facility and the review of the Water and Sewer Enterprise Funds, including the capital needs and debt levels.

The committee will also tackle identifying existing and future capital projects and equipment needs; the implementation of the city’s sewer rebate program; and the performance of such related duties as the council may from time to time assign.





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