Hollister
– Like it or not, the City of Hollister is moving forward in
earnest with plans to make the much talked-about new wastewater
treatment facility a reality, having unanimously approved a fairly
dramatic increase to the city’s monthly sewer rates Tuesday.
Hollister – Like it or not, the City of Hollister is moving forward in earnest with plans to make the much talked-about new wastewater treatment facility a reality, having unanimously approved a fairly dramatic increase to the city’s monthly sewer rates Tuesday.
“We’re still exploring options to try and save everyone some money,” Mayor Robert Scattini said. “But we have to move forward with this.”
The councilmembers voted to increase sewer rates over a period of five years, starting with a 48 percent jump this year, after citizens lambasted the council for more than an hour, decrying the rates as unfair and burdensome.
“I’ve paid my taxes; some of that was supposed to be for infrastructure. I paid my impact fees, some of that was supposed to be for infrastructure. Where is that money now?” Hollister resident Anthony Edwards said. “You’re not representing the people to the city; you’re representing the city to the people.”
The new sewer plant, which will cost approximately $120 million, is slated for completion before 2009 and will bring an end to the moratorium on new sewer connections imposed by the state in 2002 after 15 million gallons of treated wastewater spilled into the San Benito River. The moratorium has stifled economic development throughout the city.
“We have no other choice. Either we build it now or the city will die,” Scattini said. “I know no one wants to pay these bills, but if we don’t build it the state will fine us as much as $10,000 a day. That’s $300,000 a month, and we’d all be paying a lot more.”
Though the rates have been approved, the city has only begun its work in moving forward. Taking the advice of some citizens at Tuesday’s meeting, the council is looking into forming a citizens’ watchdog committee, to ensure that the money for the new facility will be used correctly.
“We think it would be a good idea to have a committee to oversee construction and make sure the finances go where they need to be,” Scattini said.
Scattini said the city is also looking for more forms of financial aid from state and federal sources to help ease the burden of financing the treatment plant, and is also considering privatizing operations once the plant is up and running, a move that could save residents money in the long run.
“The first thing we’ll be doing is going out to bid for a contract,” City Manager Clint Quilter said. “We plan on doing that in October and having that finalized by the 30th.”
If the contract is settled on schedule, ground could break on the facility as early as November or December. The city will also be selling $120 million in bonds, but Quilter said it was too early to tell if the city will opt to sell one big bond or several smaller ones.
Though the council approved five years’ worth of rate increases, officials hope the plan will not have to be implemented in full. Rather, they are anticipating that impact fees from new development once the moratorium is lifted will cover nearly half of the plant’s construction costs. If that assumption holds up, the sewer rate increase would be significantly smaller, with the monthly rate climbing to $71.50 by 2009 instead of $124.40. Assumptions aside, the city council had to approve the new sewage rate scheme to demonstrate that it can generate enough revenue to satisfy the bonding company.
In late August, the council approved a subsidy from the general fund that will ensure qualifying low-income senior citizens will not suffer the full effects of whatever rate increases occur. If the city winds up subsidizing bills for fewer seniors than officials anticipate, it is possible that the city will open up discount opportunities to other groups of people, such as low-income families with children.
“Nobody wants to pay more on their sewer bills,” Scattini said. “But at least we’ve jumped this one hurdle.”
Danielle Smith covers education for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or [email protected].
