Mt. View Sanitary District Delays Vote on Rate Hikes; Now Planned for May 4

Insufficient number of board members to approve increases attended last week's hearing; City Council scheduled to approve citywide goals at Wednesday's council meeting

Editor’s note: The following report on the Mt. View Sanitary District’s proposed rate increases by freelance writer Tom Lochner is made possible by the financial support of paid newsletter subscribers and other donors.

By Tom Lochner

Decision on a five-year, 9 percent-a-year rate increase proposal in the Mt. View Sanitary District was postponed to May 4 after an insufficient number of board members showed up at a board meeting on Thursday. 

The proposed hike, officials say, is needed to keep up with capital improvement and maintenance needs of the 100-year-old district's aging infrastructure. It would bring annual sewer service rates for single-family houses from the current $814.20 to $888 on July 1 and to $1,260 in year 5, starting July 1, 2027. The latter amount is more than double the $615.60 rate eight years earlier, in 2019-20.

A public hearing, to be followed by a vote on the proposal, was adjourned after public comments, and continued to a special meeting at 6:30 p.m. May 4 in the Mt. View district board room at 3800 Arthur Road, Martinez.

Implementation of a rate increase proposal would require yes-votes of two-thirds of board members, Mt. View's general manager, Lilia Corona, explained. Three of the five board members – David Maggi, Melody LaBella and board President Brian Danley – were present at Thursday's meeting. Even if all three were to have voted in favor, three-fifths of the board would fall short of the two-thirds approval required. On a five-member board, four members would need to vote yes.

The district will have only four board members by the time the public hearing resumes May 4. That's because LaBella announced she would step down because she will move out of the Mt. View district at the end of this month. 

About 20 members of the public attended Thursday's meeting, several of whom spoke passionately against a rate increase during public comment,

"We're just regular people," one resident told the board. "You act like we have all this money. We don't."

"This isn't Orinda. This is Martinez," another said.

Corona said the district is prudent with public funds; that it values professionalism, transparency, accountability and the democratic process; and that MVSD's salaries are "reasonable and competitive."

A main bone of contention is affordability. Just prior to the opening of the public hearing, the board adopted a study by Texas-based consultant Municipal Financial Services that found that the proposed rates would be within commonly accepted affordability limits, based on citywide median household income statistics derived from U.S Census data.

"Generally, a combined water-related bill that is greater than 5% of household income (or individually, 2.0% for water, 2.5% for sewer and 0.5% for stormwater) is considered unaffordable," according to the study, officially dubbed 2023 Water/Wastewater Affordability Assessment. Click here to read the study.

Several speakers challenged the affordability findings.

"Perhaps the district … may have forgotten that there are several disadvantaged neighborhoods in our district, as well as hundreds if not thousands of people living on fixed incomes who are already struggling with the current inflation," said resident Nancy Gaines, reading from a written statement. She also chided the district for spending more than it takes in, calling it "budgeting madness."

The district website's financial information page notes "anticipated expenditures of $12 million for all district funds with total revenue projections of $9.8 million" in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Another speaker slammed the district for spending money on memberships in sanitation agency and special district associations, likening them to lobbying groups promoting higher salaries.

Resident Alice Jackman said higher sewer rates would force local businesses to raise prices. She criticized the board for taking on too much debt, another factor contributing to higher sewer service rates.

Many critics of the proposed Mt. View rate increases, among them Jackman, advocate consolidation with the much larger Central Contra Costa Sanitary District, popularly known as Central San, which covers several cities as well as parts of Martinez mostly west and south of Mt. View. Owners of single-family houses in Central San currently pay $690 a year for wastewater service. Central San seeks an increase to $697 next fiscal year and $725 the following year, and will hold a public hearing at 2:30 p.m. April 20 at 5019 Imhoff Place, Martinez.

Mt. View Sanitary District service area map

A group of residents that includes Jackman has produced a five-page "Summary of Operations" at Mt. View that it has forwarded to the Contra Costa Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which is preparing a Municipal Services Review covering wastewater services that it expects to release in May or June. The same commission, in a 2014 Countywide Water/Wastewater Municipal Services Review, had recommended that officials consider "preparation of a fiscal/operational study evaluating the long-term impacts of consolidation with CCCSD."

Also among the public speakers on Thursday was Phil Leiber, director of finance and administration at Central San. Leiber was appearing in his official capacity, according to Central San's communications manager, Emily Barnett. 

"It makes sense to look at it," Leiber said, referring to a "potential merger" of Mt. View with Central San, noting that the latter enjoys "economy of scale" and has the necessary capacity that could make consolidation "an operational win-win." Leiber added that his board "has not taken an official position on the matter."

Left virtually unmentioned at Thursday's meeting was the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in late 2021, although Corona said, without going into specifics, that Mt. View is "diligently looking for grants" and is "committed to pursue grants."

Under state law, a rate increase proposal can be scuttled if written protests from a majority of property owners in a district are received. As of the adjournment of the public hearing Thursday evening, 717 written protests had been received, representing about 8.6 percent of property owners, a Mt. View official said. Written protests will continue to be accepted up until the close of the public hearing on May 4, Corona said.

City Council Preview

By Craig Lazzeretti

The Martinez City Council will be back in session Wednesday (April 19). Here’s some highlights from the agenda:

• The city manager’s regular update on developments related to the investigation into the Martinez Refining Co.’s Thanksgiving night toxic dust release, and other refinery issues, will include discussion of a new flyer that will be mailed to residents along with their property bills (check out the flyer by clicking here). This new flyer results from concerns that many residents who are not active on social media or other internet platforms have been left largely in the dark about developments from this major chemical accident that dumped 20 to 24 tons of dust laden with heavy metals onto the surrounding communities, compounded by the refinery’s failure to activate the Community Warning System to alert the public and relevant health agencies. The plan is to attach the flyer in water bill billings over two months starting this month.

• The council is expected to adopt a resolution identifying its top four goals for the current and next fiscal years based on the results of a goal-setting workshop in February. Those goals are:

1. Staff recruitment and retention

2. Financial sustainability

3. Vibrant sustainable waterfront and marina

4. Strong downtown and commercial centers

• The council is expected to approve a resolution forming a subcommittee (consisting of council members Mark Ross and Satinder Malhi) to negotiate with the Martinez Historical Society for its use of the Old Train Depot downtown. The city began negotiations with the Historical Society in 2021 the property, but they have not yet yielded an agreement, leading to the formation of this subcommittee to try to assist in the process.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. Click here to find the agenda with information on how to attend in person or via Zoom.

Personal Note

After a three-year hiatus because of the pandemic, I once again had an opportunity to volunteer Saturday night at ABC7 anchor Dan Ashley’s “Rock the CASA” benefit concert at the Lesher Center in Walnut Creek to benefit four youth-focused charities, including our own Boys and Girls Club of Contra Costa County. Below is a photo of me holding my “live auction spotter” lightsaber to point out bids in the audience for signed guitars by music legends and a signed Steph Curry jersey (guitars from B.B. King and this year’s performer, Joan Jett, went for over $8,000 apiece, and the Curry jersey went for $5,000).

The other beneficiaries were Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Contra Costa benefiting foster youths (I am a former CASA); Friends of Camp Concord; and Big Brothers and Sisters of the Bay Area. It was an incredible night that will make a big difference in the lives of countless local youths. And it’s still not too late to donate. If you value the work I’ve done with this newsletter, one way you can show your appreciate is to make a donation to this worthwhile cause that means so much to me. Just click this the link to the “Rock the CASA” website where you can contribute any amount you’d like. And as a bonus, for everyone who purchases a paid subscription to this newsletter through this post, I will match the subscription amount ($50 for an annual subscription or $5 monthly) with a donation of my own to “Rock the CASA.” Every donation makes a difference in the life of a child.

To read more about the night and my thoughts on the event and what it represented, check out this post in my other Substack newsletter, “Craig’s Eternal Sunshine of My Spotted Mind.”