By Kathleen Acuff
Monthly sewer service charges for single-
family residences in Los Altos will rise by $2.75 per home next year to increase system revenue by half a million dollars. The rise in the current $21 monthly residential fee will add $33 to each homeowner’s total sewer costs for the year.
Rates for businesses, schools and other public facilities will increase at the same multiple of the residential fee as before.
Despite the increases, city staff expect to spend about half a million dollars more on the sewers in the next fiscal year than they will take in. Sewer service charges are set to rise steadily through fiscal year 2023-2024.
“We’ll lose money at first but eventually make it up,” Public Works Director Jim Porter said last week.
The rate schedule adopted in May 2005 was amended in last week’s city council meeting. The master plan released in September 2005 provides for charging homeowners in unincorporated areas from 1.7 times to twice the city rate for use of the city sewer system. At Porter’s recommendation, the 1.7 multiplier will apply in fiscal year 2006-2007.
Residents of the unincorporated areas who now pay $35.70 per month for sewer services will be charged $40.40 per month, an additional $56.40 for the year.
Self-styled council watchdogs Tom Burns and Gerry Madea called the multiplier a surcharge and accused the city of stealing money from noncity residents.
According to staff, before sewers were installed in the unincorporated areas, the county negotiated the multiplier range and promised noncity residents that they would not be charged more than double city residents’ rate if they voted for the installation.
Porter said the sewer master plan was developed in part to allow a graduated rate increase over several years to pay for more than $47 million in system maintenance and improvement projects.
The public works director’s report to the council stated that the city can legally refuse sewer service to residents of unincorporated areas within its sphere of influence and that the county had a long-standing policy of not providing sewer service to those residents.
