Los Angeles City Hall and the Department of Water and Power have received more than 2,000 letters of protest over a water rate-hike proposal set for consideration by the City Council this week.
The city clerk’s web site shows the number of letters sent in opposition to the water rate increase, which will raise average customers’ bills by 4.8 percent each year for a five-year period. High-use households will see rates rise by about 7.2 percent a year.
Rate-hike supporters such as Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti argue the increase will help pay for upgrades to the utility’s aging infrastructure system, which has seen blowouts like the 2014 main break near UCLA. Even with the increase, DWP’s water rates will remain some of the lowest in the region, Garcetti said in a statement last year.
The mayor’s appointees on the DWP Board of Commissioners have also signed off on the water plan and major opposition hasn’t emerged at Los Angeles City Hall.
The City Council is expected to vote on both water and electrical rate increases on Wednesday.
Signaling discontent with the water plan, hundreds of letters were sent through a campaign led by Valley Vote, a non-partisan civic organization that advocates for San Fernando Valley residents.
David Devoss, a Valley Vote executive board member, criticized the annual DWP transfer to the city’s general fund, and questioned raising rates amid water conservation efforts.
“People who tried to be good citizens by conserving are certainly concerned that their water bills are going to go up,” Devoss said.
Daily News columnist Susan Shelley helped organize the Valley Vote campaign.
A total of about 2,200 protest letters came in, according to the city’s web site. That figure couldn’t be immediately verified, however. A partial review of the letters by the Daily News showed some duplicate letters posted, for instance.
Letters were sent from Woodland Hills to San Pedro, according to the city clerk’s web site. The volume signals the ongoing skepticism of the utility, which has struggled with a new billing system and faced criticisms over its workers’ salaries and benefits.
Also opposed to the water hike is downtown developer Geoffrey Palmer, whose attorney sent a letter to the City Council this month.
In the Feb. 16 letter, Palmer’s attorney Benjamin Benumoff cited a recent court ruling that found that San Juan Capistrano’s tiered water rate system violates Proposition 218, an anti-tax state measure. Palmer believes the proposed water hike also violates Prop. 218, Benumoff wrote.
“G.H Palmer remains open to discuss the issues presented in its opposition with city officials and is hopeful its concerns can be addressed without the need for formal litigation,” Benumoff wrote.
Benumof represented the Capistrano Taxpayers Association in their lawsuit against the city.
“LA’s recommended water rates and tiers are cost based and developed differently than those that led to the San Juan Capistrano decision,” DWP spokeswoman Amanda Parsons said. “As such, we believe they are lawful.”
Other opponents include Los Angeles Food Policy Council, which wrote that water bills for community gardens will rise significantly under the new plan.
Backing the water rate hike are business groups the Central City Association and the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, both of which wrote letters of suppor for the increase.
DWP watchdog Jack Humphreville said he reluctantly supports the water hike because the money will help fund infrastructure repairs.
“I hold my nose and accept it,” Humphreville said.
