AGOURA HILLS CONSIDERS UTILITY TAX.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

Despite failing to convince voters last year that keeping a two-year-old utility tax would be good for the city, the council is considering asking the community once again to help the city by paying extra on telephone, gas and electricity bills.

The council will decide in the next few weeks whether to pursue a November ballot initiative for a utility tax. The money would be used to pay for a list of road improvements expected to cost $25 million.

``We're still trying to decide whether or not we want to do it, and whether or not we should do it,`` said Councilman Dan Kuperberg, who served with Councilwoman Louise Rishoffon on a budget subcommittee. ``I don't know that I'd recommend (the initiative) at this point ... There are such harsh feelings out there.``

Council members had intended to use money from the original utility tax they approved in June 1994 to pay for road upkeep and other amenities such as a new library.

But voters eliminated it in a June 1996 election by a 1,692-1,492 tally. The city needed 50 percent of the voters plus one vote to keep the tax.

The tax was attacked by a group of anti-tax advocates, and spurred an attempted recall of council members and a lawsuit.

The rejection has frustrated council members, who say that similar taxes have allowed cities such as Calabasas and Malibu to provide quality services to the community with a 5 percent utilities tax.

``I think we lost last time because we did a bad job of getting our message across,`` Kuperberg said.

The council must make a decision quickly if it plans to propose a tax this year, since it would have to take action by July 16 to get the issue on the November ballot. In addition, under the Prop. 218, four of the five council members must vote in favor of the ballot initiative.

The council has discussed several possibilities, including providing voters with two tax initiatives - one proposing a 2 percent resident tax with a sunset clause and another proposing a 3 percent business tax, also with a sunset clause.

If the council decides to wait, it would have to put off the issue until the next city council election in two years as part of another restriction created by Prop. 218.

The terms of Mayor Fran Pavley and councilmembers Ed Corridori and Denis Weber expire this year. Pavley has said she will not seek another term.

The council passed a utility tax in June 1995 to cover a shortfall in the budget, despite urgings from some in the community to put it on the ballot.

The tax tacked on a 4 percent charge for residents and a 3.5 percent charge for businesses on telephone, electricity and gas bills.

In Oct. 1995, more than a year after the tax went into effect, the state Supreme Court reversed lower court rulings that allowed special taxes to be approved by an elected body without a popular vote.

Concerned about that decision, the city began setting aside collected utility tax money instead of spending it, which resulted in $1.3 million in a separate account.

In June 1996, Agoura Hills voters rejected the tax and the city stopped collecting it in July.