City Council candidate Adrian Grimaldo addresses the city's high water and sewer rates.

The City Council meeting on August 24th mainly focused on the increases in fees for the residents of Fillmore of which there were many. The proposed increase in water and sewer fees took front and center, along with an added fee for street cleaning. But also discussed were the increased fees for general service, Police and Fire Department services, filming fees, sports programs, Building and Safety, Public Works along with a proposed increase in Vista transportation.

The meeting was the first reading of the Water Ordinance 10-821, a proposed water rate increase and in preparation for a public hearing for a Proposition 218 protest hearing. Proposition 218 is the proposed increase in fees to the sewer and water rates for properties here in Fillmore.

Starting off the council meeting there was much discussion about the ballots that were sent out recently to the property owners in regards to the water and sewer fee increases. Some found the ballots confusing and others did not know that only property owners had been sent the ballots, and that only property owners could protest the proposed increased rates. It was suggested that the ballots should have read ‘Ballot’ on the front, to avoid some of the confusion, to which the council agreed that having done that would have been an improvement.

Lupe Grimaldo along with Tom Dawson voiced their concern with the escalating water and sewer rates. Grimaldo questioned the council on what exactly the rate increases will be and cautioned that the citizens need a better explanation and that the council should do a better job at distributing the ballots. Mayor Patti Walker stated she’d received many comments similar to Grimaldo’s and that, “The mailer was misleading, we need to get out more information.”

When asked what the rates will be ten years from now, Councilman Steve Conaway stated, “A lot”. Brian Sipes questioned whether Fillmore will need another improvement in 40 years, and that the last counsel’s incompetence created what this council is dealing with today. He then stated something his mother had always told him, “The decisions you make today have lasting consequences”. The City Council reminded those in attendance that up to now the Rate Stabilization Fund, which was implemented in 2006, has prevented drastic changes in the sewer and water rates allowing smaller gradual increases.

Another future change will be a charge for sewer and water rates on vacant properties. There will be a 65% rate for sewer and 50% rate for water on vacant properties; meaning that in the future, all properties with water and sewer amenities will receive a sewer/water bill regardless of whether the property is being used or not. The goal of this charge is to distribute the cost of maintaining the water and sewer system throughout Fillmore to all property owners hooked up to the system, not just those using or occupying the property. This charge is not prorated and will only affect those properties that are in use or become in use after Oct 15th and then later become vacant.

The revenues raised by the water and sewer rate increases will be $68,000 a year for each dollar added to the sewer bill and $96,000 a year for each dollar added to the water. City Attorney Theodore Schneider stated that with Proposition 218, the law requires that a city can not charge more than the costs it requires, meaning the city cannot receive a profit on what it is charging residents.

The city must receive back 2,006 ballots in protest of the increases, which is 50.1% of the ballots mailed out. If the 50.1% is not received the increases with take affect.

The mailing list used to send out the ballots to the property owners was generated by the last assessor’s roles from the county, which is updated every six months. For those property owners who did not receive a ballot, there are replacements available at city hall. The city is required by law to receive a written record of the protest ballot along with a signature and a parcel number. Therefore no one may phone in their protest.

Another issue of concern at the meeting was the fee for street sweeping. The City Council stated that there “…isn’t money in the budget for street sweeping that there once was” and soon Fillmore residents will be charged a monthly fee for the service. Complaints were made by those in attendance that in the past the street sweepers often would bypass the parked cars and as a result much of their work was inefficient . One suggestion proposed by David Weeks was posting street signs with days and times of street cleaning. Residents would then know when to move their cars to allow the street sweepers to do a better job. The job of street cleaning will now be handled by E. J. Harrison and is expected to add a fee of up to $1.20 which will be added to the monthly trash bills.

One Fillmore business owner in attendance spoke of her customers who were continually complaining about problems they saw with the town and how it operates. Her solution was “residence need to get more involved with what was going on in the city”. Many times during this council meeting Walker reminded those in attendance that this council meeting was a workshop and all comments were welcome and that she wanted their input.

Another proposal was upgrading the Senior Citizen Center with automated doors to accommodate those having trouble entering the building. Also suggested was upgrading the restrooms with ADA toilets and with the woman who proposed it offering to donate the cost of the toilet and the instillation.

Vista transportation will be asking for an increase at a hearing which is scheduled for September 10th. The Vistas spokespersons stated Vista has not raised their rates since 1994 and “funding has hit the wall”. They are proposing joining in with other transportation providers in Ventura County that use a transfer system to offset the cost to the riders.

But not all was bad news. The ticket price at the towne theatre has been reduced. The new ticket prices are $6.00 for adults, $4.00 for children 3-11yrs and $4.00 for seniors 60 yrs and older. The goal with the decrease prices is to encourage attendance and therefore the theatre will continue to remain open. So please consider taking your family and friends to a movie.