Opponents of a water fee increase lugged three boxes with 111 books of petition signatures into the headquarters of the Yorba Linda Water District, demanding a voter referendum on the cost hike.
The books contained 5,541 signatures, according to Jon Hansen of the Yorba Linda Taxpayers Association, more than a fifth of the district's 24,000 customers, and twice the number needed to compel a referendum.
"The citizens of Yorba Linda are done taking rate increases blindly," Hansen said.
Like many districts, Yorba Linda is seeking to replace sales revenue that has decreased as customers use less water during the drought. Its annual revenue has decreased by more than $9 million, according to General Manager Marc Marcantonio.
To make up the loss, effective the first of this month, the district increased the basic service fee for a typical connection from $16.77 to $41.57. The rate for water consumption remained at $2.70 per unit of 748 gallons.
For the Nederhood family that reduced its water use by one third from August to September, the fee hike more than offset the savings from using less water, and their total bill actually went up 50 cents to $116.47.
"We are now all caught in a Catch-22," said Al Nederhood, a recent retiree. What concerns him more is the district approving a series of annual increases in the fee that would raise it another $20 or more over the next five years.
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The activists who gathered the signatures contend the district is overstating the loss of revenue by double, putting it in the range of $4 to $5 million, and insist the district could get by with a fee hike half as large as the one enacted.
"We want them to charge enough to compensate for lost revenue," said Jeff Decker, an associate professor of business administration at Whittier College. But he contends the fee increases will generate a larger reserve fund than necessary, and that there is room to cut district overhead.
The petitioners propose the first year increase of $25 per month be reduced to $12, with subsequent annual hikes of $2 per month.
"Their math is wrong," said Marcantonio.
How well a district's rates compare to others depends on which ones are chosen for comparison. Those who submitted the petitions contend the Yorba Linda District, which also serves some customers in Placentia and other neighboring cities, is more expensive than most of its neighboring municipal water companies.
The District says it is more similar to nonmunicipal not-for-profit water districts, and contends it compares favorably with those in Orange County. Municipal agencies can draw on other sources of revenue for water service, said Damon Micalizzi, public affairs manager for the Yorba Linda district.
Before approving the pricing changes last month, the District retained a consultant to prepare an analysis.
Under Proposition 218, a rate increase can be nullified if more than half of those affected notify the district they are opposed. The opponents say they were able to marshal some 7,000 opposition letters, but they needed more than 12,000.
The petition process offers the opponents a lower hurdle. If the signatures are certified by the County Registrar of Voters, the district must schedule a referendum election, and the rate change can be struck down with a simple majority of referendum voters.
But even before then, as the Taxpayers' Association reads the law, once the signatures are certified, the water district board must put the rate change on hold until the election.
The district is checking with its lawyer on that, Marcantonio said.
