City keeping the lid on cannery debt

After more than a year disputing with each other, Hollister and
San Benito Foods have agreed on a debt the canning operation owes
the city for use of its sewer ponds during three prior summers.
City keeping the lid on cannery debt

After more than a year disputing with each other, Hollister and San Benito Foods have agreed on a debt the canning operation owes the city for use of its sewer ponds during three prior summers.

But officials won’t divulge the figure – which they say is significantly less than the city’s original debt estimate of $1.5 million – until the City Council officially approves the deal at its Sept. 6 meeting.

The problem – the two sides disagreeing on how much San Benito Foods owed Hollister for sewer use from 1999-2002 – first came up in July 2003. Each summer during the busy canning season, San Benito Foods uses Hollister’s industrial sewer plant to treat and dispose its added waste. Hollister bills the cannery for costs of that extra pressure on the system.

Former City Manager Dale Shaddox discovered the discrepancy while analyzing the budget in his first few months on the job.

“It’s something that came up. We’re dealing with it and we’re moving forward,” Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia said. “I’m really pleased that it did come forward and I really hope it doesn’t happen again.”

City Attorney Elaine Cass said the figure first must be approved in closed session before it’s reported out to the public, which officials expect to happen Sept. 6.

The conflict over the billing happened after Hollister also began using the industrial plant to offset capacity problems at its domestic ponds. The two sides have acknowledged Hollister asked San Benito Foods to pay for too much of capital improvements made there during that time.