COUNCIL SET TO INCREASE CITY FEES.

Byline: KERRY CAVANAUGH Staff Writer

With barely a rumble of discontent, homeowners will be hit today with a one-two punch -- a dramatic hike in the trash pickup fee and a more modest increase in water and power rates -- that will cost them as much as $125 more a year.

The City Council is expected to approve raising trash fees by $17 a month over the next three years to pay for more police officers, while the Board of Water and Power Commissioners will sign off on rate increases for residential and commercial customers.

The city has received more than 250 letters -- mostly from seniors and others on fixed incomes -- protesting the trash fee, and a few complaints about the DWP rates. But community leaders say the outcry has been relatively mild because the city worked hard to explain the need for the fees.

``I didn't get a great sense of outrage, maybe because of the way it was presented,'' said Leonard Schaffer, president of the Tarzana Neighborhood Council. ``I never like increased fees, but we have to pay it somehow.

``Giving people the notice, giving people (the) opportunity to voice their objections ... that might have changed things.''

Still, many people worry about the rising cost of living for Angelenos, given soaring gas prices and the potential property tax hikes if voters approve the infrastructure, street paving and affordable housing bonds on the November ballot.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has defended the trash and utility fee increases, which come after extensive discussion.

``I think there was a great deal of concern about the middle class and the poor and that's why there was a lot of effort to keep fees down,'' he said in an interview last week. ``I think people see that this was a last resort and that there was a great effort to (keep) fees down.''

If approved by the council, the trash fee increase would apply to single- family residences and some small apartment buildings served by the L.A. Bureau of Sanitation. Monthly trash rates would rise from $11 a month now to $18 in September, $22 next July, $26 in July 2008 and $28 in July 2009.

Larger apartment buildings, condominiums and businesses hire private trash haulers and already pay full cost for garbage pickup.

From the beginning, city leaders have been careful to say the trash fee increase would not pay directly for more police officers, which would have constituted a tax that required a citywide vote.

Rather, they said they were ending a decades-old practice of subsidizing homeowners who paid for their trash cans but not garbage pickup. Cities can raise fees to recover the cost of providing a service without a public vote.

The money would go into the general fund, freeing up money to hire additional police officers. However, some residents are concerned the City Council could divert the money to other pet projects.

``The City Council has proven time and time again that (they) can't be trusted. What happens if we can't meet our recruitment goal? So where is the money going to go?'' asked Jim Alger, president of the Northridge West Neighborhood Council and vice-chair of the L.A. Neighborhood Council Congress.

However, Councilwoman Wendy Greuel drafted a policy to ensure the money would be spent to hire police officers, then on police overtime.

``No one likes to say we're raising trash fees, but many of us felt comfortable that we had a financial policy that said hiring police officers is our No. 1 priority,'' Greuel said. ``And it's an ordinance so you have to vote to change the priority.''

Council President Eric Garcetti said the city has tried to level with residents about the costs for services and that ``straight talk'' has lessened the controversy of the trash and DWP increases.

``People have across the board said they don't like increases, but they understand,'' he said. ``When the price of Coca-Cola goes up, when rents go up and car payments go up and things like water and trash collection stay the same for years, then people know things are due to go up.''

If approved today by the DWP board, the increases in water and power rates then would go to the City Council and mayor.

The DWP's $3.9 billion budget approved last month calls for a 2.75 percent increase in water revenue.

Businesses that use a lot of water, such as hotels and large office buildings, have paid below-market rates for water for years and would see their bills jump by more than 10 percent next year.

Water rates for residents with small yards would increase by 1.6 percent this year and 2.2 percent next year, or 42 cents and 67 cents per month, respectively.

Water rates for residents with larger yards that use more water would jump 1.9 percent this year and 2.3 percent, or $2.17 and $2.92 a month, respectively.

Power bills are expected to increase 2.5 percent or roughly $15 a year as the DWP passes along the higher cost of natural gas and environmentally friendly energy.

Two years ago, neighborhood councils and residents rebelled when the DWP surprised them with a proposed 18 percent rate increase. The utility subsequently agreed to consult neighborhood councils before future rate increases. The utility, which has often been criticized for wasteful spending, also agreed to an independent review of its expenses.

That openness eliminated much of the opposition to the water and power increases.

``Once we looked at all the figures and facts we felt the rate increase was justified. We understand a lot of this is environmental cost they have no control over and the cost of natural gas they have no control over,'' said Brady Westwater, who heads the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council and chairs the LA Neighborhood Council Congress.

Still, many ratepayers and neighborhood councils have serious concerns about the DWP's spending habits. Several of the panels have asked the DWP to fund another independent review of the utility's finances to ensure managers continue to cut wasteful spending and guarantee that future rate hikes are needed.

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