Manhattan Beach water, sewer rates could rise 30 percent

If someone cannot afford a $7/mo hike in a water bill should they be owning a home?

Like these people who claimed $2 gas would prevent them from going to work!

But thye continue to spend $5 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Gimme a friggin' break.

It's still a bargain compared to so many other cities!

This explains it all, I love the transparency.

"Public Works Director Jim Arnt has said a residential customer with a <MD+,%30,%55,%70>3/<M D-,%0,%55,%70>4-inch pipe - the most common size in town - who uses the median amount of water would see their monthly bill next year increase from $32.69 to $39.13, for an increase of nearly 20 percent."

Daily Breeze writer Andrea Woodhouse typically does a better job, but this story fails to accurately portray the true magnitude of these huge rate increases to users.

If one troubles themself to interpret the complex data presented to City Council by staff, in five short years water rates will well more than double and sewer rates will more than triple, for a combined water and sewer rate that comes close to tripling.

Yes, the cost our city pays for water is increasing, but a grand portion of this rate increase is for capital improvements that should have been funded over past decades. In fact, a component of our rates has always been designated for just such capital maintenance. Yet suddenly it is determined (with the help of a consultant who was paid ~$1.3M!) that we have an additional $165M need. This is pure, indefensible negligence, and is of more than sufficient magnitude to remove the City Manager.

Also, contrary to what is stated in this article, it was not voluntary that the Council "even extended the comment period so customers would have more time to consider the rationale for the increases." No, instead the Council was again misled by the City Attorney who had them on a fast track that was in direct violation of the very straightforward public process requirements of Prop 218. And as far as "seeking protests to the increase", this Council did only the bare legal minimum ... yet they still received well over 500 written objections. Had anyone initiated a truly educational campaign to gather opposition, attainment of the required 50% would likely have been *quite* achievable.

But the sad fact is that there are some capital improvements needed and they must indeed be funded. At the absolute least, we deserve to get a new City Manager out of this raw deal.

girb wrote:

I have no idea how we recalled Bill Eisen, who granted was a crook but never stole a dime from the people of Manhattan Beach, and we keep Tell, Montgomery, and Ward in office. These three clowns couldn't manage the late shift at 7-11. They have screwed up everything from undergrounding, to facilities management and everything in between. They act like if they have some kind of mandate to make the assinine decisions that they make when the top vote getter gets 4,500 votes in a city with a population of 40,000. As a 37 year resident of Manhattan Beach this is the worst city council that I have ever seen.

Totally agree with you and certainly agree they couldn't manage a 7-11 unless they had months of training.....and supervision.
The underground fiasco was impossible I had to pay 17,000 now more money ? When does it stop ? Probabaly when a lot of us get so fed up we move out of state and if enough of us move there goes the tax basse...these guys in politoics local, state federal fail to understand the more they tick off the taxpyers especially those that pay lots of taxes eventual those people will just go elsewhere and the only ppl left will be the ones expecting gifts from the govt....
I loved this on TV yesterday ... Obama supporters standing in line for Obamas handouts in MIchigan..( and there's an important lesson here to be learned )
Asked: where does MIchigan get the money to pay you ..
ans: from OBAMA..
Asked: then where does OBAMA get his money from ?
ans: I don't know ...from his stash ... I don't care ...its OBAMA's and he's giving it to us ...
and these are the people we are giving my hard earned tax money too ??? Unbelieveable... Good JOb Obama mmmm mmmm

DonnyTrump wrote:

If someone cannot afford a $7/mo hike in a water bill should they be owning a home?
Like these people who claimed $2 gas would prevent them from going to work!
But thye continue to spend $5 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Gimme a friggin' break.

add the 17,000 per house we were charged withouot warning for underground power in Manhattan beach, then add DMV state charges tripled, then add the new hike coming from state incometax franchise board, and LA Co tax rate hike ...and more..the govt can not stop its not the 7 dollars its not the 17,000 it all of it ..they can't stop and theres no stop in sight ...

Further to my above comments on how the MB City Council did only the bare legal minimum to "seek out objections" from residents, it's most interesting to now see how Torrance chooses to do a MUCH better job of specifically and directly advising their residents, via mail, on how to oppose a prop 218 rate increase, even providing residents a form with which to do so.

Pay attention, MB City Council, and take a lesson in this case from your counterparts in Torrance on how to govern fairly, with transparency, and with your constituents' true interests in mind.

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_13661349

Everyone wake up and vote these a__ clowns out. Past 10 years has been a joke, oh yeah we do have Bruces park over on 26th street that was a real critical issue. Ward is bozo, next time the circus is in town join up.

The city manager, Jeff Dolan and his staff are the people who are running the show in Manhattan Beach. He has been doing a lousy job for many years, yet he recently got a huge rise to keep him and other managers "higher in pay then the staff". No logic, considering his performance.