2ND TRASH FEE HIKE SOUGHT PROPOSAL BOOSTS RATES 83% SINCE OCTOBER.Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer Just six months after raising the monthly sanitation sanitation: see plumbing; sanitary science. equipment charge by $4, Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. is seeking an additional $1 a month - boosting the fee city homeowners would pay by 83 percent since last fall. Homeowners began receiving notices this week of the proposed $1-a-month increase, which could be extended or allowed to expire expire /ex·pire/ (ek-spi´er) 1. to exhale. 2. to die. ex·pire v. 1. To breathe one's last breath; die. 2. To exhale. in five years. A hearing on the proposal is scheduled for May 18. The increase would take effect June 25, raising the monthly fee from $10 to $11 for a house or duplex (communications) duplex - Used to describe a communications channel that can carry signals in both directions, in contrast to a simplex channel which only ever carries a signal in one direction. unit, and from $6.60 to $7.27 for each dwelling dwelling an abnormality of gait in a horse in which there is a momentary hesitation before the foot is placed on the ground. in larger multifamily buildings. The fee does not apply to commercial structures, which have private trash services. Money from the higher rate would be used to buy a downtown site for a refuse transfer station. In September, the City Council voted to boost the sanitation equipment fee, effective last Oct. 25, from $6 to $10 for houses and from $4 to $6.60 for multifamily units. That hike is being used to pay for increased equipment costs that were being paid out of the city's general fund. The October increase was the first since 1966, said Robert Tanowitz, head of the Sanitation Bureau's Financial Services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. Division. City officials estimate the average total cost for the city to provide refuse collection and equipment for a house in Los Angeles is $34.50 a month. ``In the long run, this will be the best and cheapest way for the city to go,'' said Councilman Greig Smith Greig Smith is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 12th District, which includes Granada Hills, Northridge and other parts of the Western San Fernando Valley. Smith is also a reserve officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. , who chairs the council's Public Works public works pl.n. Construction projects, such as highways or dams, financed by public funds and constructed by a government for the benefit or use of the general public. Noun 1. Committee overseeing the Bureau of Sanitation. Smith said all revenue from the proposed increase would be used for the transfer station, which will speed route times and allow the city to have more control over the cost of disposing of trash. Transfer stations at different locations around the city provide facilities where trucks can consolidate trash in larger vehicles to be hauled elsewhere for dumping. In addition, Smith said, the transfer station will be needed as the city looks to other proposals to reduce its reliance on landfills such as the Sunshine Canyon facility in Granada Hills. A request for proposals is in the works for consultants to look at alternatives to urban landfills, Smith said. Tanowitz said the city was required to send out the notices to residents as part of a protest procedure required by state law. ``If a majority of residents are opposed to this, we will have to drop it.'' The May 18 hearing will be when the City Council reviews the number of protests. Jon Coupal of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association helped sponsor Proposition 13, the property tax-cutting initiative in California in 1978 which slashed property taxes by fifty-seven percent and initiated a national tax revolt. It was founded by California republican Howard Jarvis. that authored the state law said sanitation equipment charges are exempt from a provision that would require voters to approve the increase. ``The city can only charge what its costs are for these fees.'' Smith said he supported the measure because it will expire in five years or be subject to a new hearing by property owners. The sanitation equipment charge is used by the city to cover its cost of equipment for the city's recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. program. The city's sanitation equipment charge is the eighth-lowest in Los Angeles County, officials said. Rick Orlov, (213) 978-0390 rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com IF YOU GO A hearing on the proposed sanitation equipment fee increase will be held at 10 a.m. May 18 at Los Angeles City Hall, 200 N. Spring St., Room 340. Residents can protest the fee by writing to the City Clerk's Office at 200 N. Spring St., Room 395, Los Angeles, CA 90012. More information is available online at www.lacity.org/san, or by calling (800) 540-0952. CAPTION(S): box Box: IF YOU GO (see text) |
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