Petaluma Water and Sewer Act (2008)
From Ballotpedia
The Petaluma Water and Sewer Act initiative, or Measure K, was on the November 2008 ballot in Sonoma County, California.
If enacted, it would have repealed a five-year package of rate increases adopted by the Petaluma City Council in 2007.
It was rejected by voters, 55 percent to 45 percent. in the city back to 2006 levels.
Measure K was defeated with 45.4% in favor.
Opponents of the rollback believe that if it had passed, the city of Petaluma would have had difficulty paying for a waste treatment plan currently under construction.
The water and sewer rate package in force in the city since 2007 calls for:
- Water rates to rise 8 percent in 2009
- Sewer rates to go up 13 percent.
- In total, monthly water rates for the average Petaluma household will rise from $33 in 2007 to $42 in 2011.
- Average monthly sewer rates would go from $44 to $80 in that time.
Try again?
Petalumans for Fair Utility Rates, the group that sponsored Measure K, is led by former Petaluma councilman Bryant Moynihan and retired pilot James Fitzgerald. In January 2009, they notified the city clerk’s office that they intend to collect signatures in support of a ballot measure similar to Measure K but which will focus exclusively on the city's sewer rates.[1]
Signatures from 1,068 registered Petaluma voters would be required to qualify a new initiative for the city's ballot.
Full text
The full text of Measure K was:
- The People of the City of Petaluma do ordain as follows:
- SECTION I: The rate schedule for wastewater service set forth in Resolution No. 2007-023 N.C.S. of the Petaluma City Council shall be reduced to the rates established by Resolution No. 2002-189 N.C.S., which were the rates in effect on January 1, 2006.
- SECTION II: The rate schedule for water service set forth in Resolution No. 2007-022 N.C.S. of the Petaluma City Council shall be reduced to the rates established by Resolution No. 2002-191 N.C.S., which were the rates in effect on January 1, 2006.
- SECTION III: This measure may not be amended except upon voter approval; provided, however, that water and wastewater rates may be increased annually, starting with the next fiscal year following passage of this initiative, not to exceed the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (1967 = 100) for the preceding published 12-month period.
- SECTION IV: If any provision of this measure or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this measure are severable.
External links
References
- ↑ Petaluma 360, "Measure K supporters may try again Group begins new effort to roll back sewer rates; may gather signatures for future ballot measure", January 8, 2009
