Per this article in PSN, Foothill Municipal Water District will hold an open house on March 15 (altho' the story doesn't say where -- we're looking into it) to meet the public on its proposed $4/month parcel tax for its customers, which include 30,000 households in Altadena (Foothill is the middleman between the Metropolitan Water District and the local water districts). Foothill's plan is to develop local water supplies so it is not so dependent on DWP, the bulk of which will be plants for reclaiming waste water and pumping it back into the aquifers.
Foothill has also pushed back its deadline for exemptions from the parcel tax, to April 5, 2010. Foothill also issued a press release about its plans, after the jump.
Foothill Municipal Water District Extends Deadline for Exclusions
Application for Real Property Assessment
Foothill Municipal Water District is considering a real property assessment to raise
money to pay for capital improvements to the District’s water system. The District’s
Board on February 16, 2010 approved exempting and excluding certain properties from
the real property assessment should the District proceed with the assessment. The
deadline for applying was originally March 9, 2010. However, due to the high interest
level, the deadline has now been extended to April 5, 2010. To be excluded from the
assessment, property owners must apply to the District based on the criteria below.
Applications can be found at www.fmwd.com or by calling the District at (818) 790-4036.
• Property owners may apply for the partial or whole exclusion of properties that do not
and will not use water as described below.
• Lands with conservation easements,
• Lands where owners certify that they will not develop the land, and
• Lands where there are ordinances and general land use plans prohibiting
development
If the property owner later develops the land, they will need to pay the retroactive
parcel charge plus interest.
Parcels exempt or excluded from the assessment will not be eligible to vote
regarding the levying of the assessment. Parcels partially benefited will have the
weighted voting based on the amount of benefit.
The District will not process exemptions and exclusions submitted after April 5,
2010.
The real property assessment is to help finance the Local, Reliable Water Supply
Program. This program was necessitated by three years of drought in Northern
California, eight years on the Colorado River watershed and a decision by a Federal
Judge that severely restricted pumping in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta due to the
diminishing population of the Delta Smelt has had impacts to the Foothill area.
The Program calls for a goal is to reduce by one-third to one-half the service
area’s dependence on imported supplies from the current average of 57%. This would be
achieved through the development of recycled water, increased capture and recharge of
stormwater and conservation to meet the legislative mandate of 20% conservation by
2020.
In addition to decreasing dependence on imported supplies, current system
rehabilitation and improvements are also part of the Program. These include new backup
generators for electrical power at pump stations and rehabilitating pumps and reservoir
storage.
Total cost of the Program is estimated at $65 million with about half being funded
through federal and state grants. The District plans to sell about $20 million in 30 year
revenue bonds for the first portion of the work. By financing the payback over 30 years
with tax exempt revenue as opposed to paying for it with current water rates, the program
is more affordable and fair since current customers will pay their share in the current
years and future customers—who will also benefit from these projects—will pay their
share in future years. To pay back the bond, the District is considering asking property
owners to vote on a real property assessment. A vote is required by Proposition 218.
The parcel charge identifies a unique benefit for each property and a specific assessment
amount based on that specific benefit. Those customers receiving more benefits would
pay more of the share of the financing through the property assessments. The votes
would also be weighted to match the assessment.
The remainder of the revenues will come from State and Federal grants, MWD
LRP rebates and Foothill MWD rates and charges for recycled water and imported water
service.
