City Council to Vote on Sewer Rate Hike
The City Council tonight is expected to hike city sewer fees by more than 15% to help pay for last year’s 86-million-gallon sewage spill.
The increase would raise monthly rates by $3.05 per household to finance the burgeoning repair costs and legal bills surrounding the February 1998 Arroyo Conejo spill.
Residents currently pay $17.60 per month for their sewer line connections. The new rate would go into effect April 1 and would make Thousand Oaks one of the most expensive sewer systems in the county.
The council needs a two-thirds majority to approve the increase; two weeks ago, the council voted 4 to 0 with one abstention to introduce the ordinance.
City officials said the rate increase is necessary to accommodate the mounting expense of upgrading the Hill Canyon Treatment Plant, which is expected to cost nearly $20 million more than its original $71-million estimate.
Other city costs from the spill include more than $1 million in legal fees and a $2.3-million fine, currently on appeal, from the state’s Regional Water Quality Control Board.
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