Ventura votes to forgive water charges for some households
Mayor
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The city staff had recommended charging for any water used beyond their average at a lower rate, an approach adopted in the city of
The city uses a tiered system for charging water, with Tier 1 being the cheapest and reflecting the lowest water usage. Because high water usage bumped people into the more expensive higher tiers, the recent bills climbed in some cases by hundreds of dollars.
The council felt households shouldn't be penalized for helping save their home or the home of their neighbor.
"This water was used for the fire. It is a fire cost," council member
It's difficult to say how much the move will cost the city.
Read more: Ventura officials set path for year ahead;
The money to refund customers can't come from the water fund, which is paid for by rates. A rate must under state law reflect the cost of service, so another customer can't subsidize other people's bills.
"The enterprise fund will have to be reimbursed with something that's TBD," Brown said. "We'll have to come back and figure that out."
It could come from the city's general fund -- which is primarily funded through sales and property taxes and fees for permits and such -- or someplace else. The city may also try to get it reimbursed as part of the federal government's disaster relief programs or could seek it as part of any fire-related lawsuit it files related to its origin, officials said.
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Customers who qualify for the rate forgiveness will see the difference reflected in a future bill. Brown said that could take several weeks or even months, depending on how many people apply.
The city is also not charging the
If a home was lost altogether, Ventura stopped billing the day of the loss, providing the customer alerted the city's water department.
The policy won't help people who received water bills at or below their average, even if some felt they should have gone down because they were out of the residence for several weeks or still haven't returned. The program only applies to the bill covering the November to January time period. The city bills on a two-month cycle.
Council member
"Why would it be the same identical amount?" he asked as several in the crowd applauded.
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Resident
The system is ancient and vulnerable, he said. During the fire, Ray and several other neighbors battled the blaze, in the process saving several homes. That is until the water went out completely at
"Fix our broken emergency water system and open up about the problem," Ray said. "The consequences are too dire to do this any other way."
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