Moreno Valley homeowners weigh street-lighting fee increase
No way does JulieAnn Stewart-Cleaveland want the utility company to snuff out thousands of the community's neighborhood streetlights.
Especially now, when public safety is uppermost in everyone's mind on her street, not far from where Norma Lopez, 17, was kidnapped and killed earlier this month, she said.
But the city could get darker if homeowners don't approve a $15 annual fee hike to keep 8,500 residential streetlights ablaze. That works out to an additional $1.33 per month that would be included on the 2010-11 property tax bill.
Stewart-Cleaveland, 42, a mother of six, is going to vote "yes" on the ballot she will return to the city clerk's office.
"I think the community needs to wake up," she said. "We need more streetlights."
Ballots are due by Sept. 14, and as the deadline draws closer, she plans to rally homeowners to turn in their ballots to approve the rate increase.
Story continues below
Special to The Press-Enterprise
Warnings are being posted on Moreno Valley streetlights saying that without a fee increase, they will be turned off.
This is the second time Moreno Valley voters have been asked to consider the rate increase.
In June 2009, the city held an election seeking approval from homeowners to increase fees from about $24 to $39 a year to pay for streetlights. But only 6,000 of 40,000 property owners returned ballots. Those who did rejected the proposed rate hike by a ratio of more than 2-to-1.
Utility rates have nearly doubled since 2006. Known as the Zone B charge, the fee funds electrical energy, maintenance and administration costs to provide residential streetlight services.
"We don't make a profit," said Councilman Richard Stewart. "It's a fee, it's not a tax. We pass the money on to Edison. If we started paying all the fees that property owners are assessed, it would cut into our police and fire protection."
In hopes of getting the word out, the city spent $40,000 to print and distribute 40,000 door hangers, 1,000 fliers and 2,500 residential street signs.
"We want people to return their ballots," said Sharon Cassel, the city's special districts division manager.The ballots must be returned no later than 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14, to Zone B Ballot, City Clerk's office, 14177 Frederick St., Moreno Valley, CA 92553."Edison has a stranglehold on us," Stewart said. "Everything is a Catch-22. No matter what the option, shut off lights, take out poles, turn off some of them, there's a charge."
Turning off the streetlights temporarily would cost $360,000. After six months, the Public Utilities Commission requires them to be turned back on, costing another $400,000.
"I'd feel safer knowing we have streetlights," said Moreno Valley resident Gwendolyn Cross, who hasn't yet returned her ballot. "It would be utterly ridiculous to turn them off."
Reach Laurie Lucas at 951-368-9569 or llucas@PE.com
Learn more
Moreno Valley will conduct a series of meetings and a public hearing about why the city says the proposed fee hike is
necessary.
Informational meetings: 9 a.m. Aug. 17; 7 p.m. Aug. 18; 3 p.m. Sept. 1
Public meeting: 6:30 p.m. Aug. 24
Public hearing: 6:30 p.m. Sept. 14
Where: All will be in City Hall chambers, 14177 Frederick St.
The prospects for healthcare reform may be chillier than DC weather, but Democrats in the House and Senate are turning their attention to another warmer but still significant national issue: the increasing number of runaway and throwaway youth who are being forced into prostitution. In response to the growing concerns that desperate, runaway teens will be forced into prostitution in a sluggish economy, Congress is pushing several bills to improve how runaway kids are tracked by the police, fund crucial social services, and prevent teens from being caught in sex trafficking. Here's the gist of what the new legislation is trying to accomplish:
No comments:
Post a Comment