League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Mendocino County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Measure D Service Charge Collection Brooktrails Township Community Services District Initiative - Majority Approval Required Pass: 737 / 53.64% Yes votes ...... 637 / 46.36% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure D

Arguments Against Measure D

Everyone should have the right to decide which services they want to receive. Nobody would expect to pay for telephone service, cable TV service, electric service, DMV fees, or for any other service they did not use. The District initiated a policy that took away every parcel owner's right to turn off their water to obtain service fees from 21 lot owners who had their water turned off. The District's policy leads to a situation where the District turns off water for non-payment while continuing to charge the property owner at the full base rate. This charge eventually becomes a lien on the property if not paid. In 1996, voters passed Proposition 218, which states in part: "No fee or charge may be imposed for a service unless that service is actually used by, or immediately available to, the owner of the property in question. Fees or charges based on potential or future use of a service are not permitted. Standby charges, whether characterized as charges or assessments, shall be classified as assessments and shall not be imposed without compliance with Section 4." Compliance with "Section 4" meant that standby charges would have to be approved by voters, in addition to meeting other requirements before assessments could be imposed. However, in interpreting Proposition 218, the courts held that charges for water and sewer service when water is locked off by the District are not really standby charges, but fees for a service that is actually being received. It is hard to imagine that property owners are receiving service even when their water is locked-off by the District. This unjust interpretation of Proposition 218 by the courts needs to be corrected. Please vote yes on this initiative and reclaim the right to control the charges on your property. Submitted by: s/David Paland David Paland 25581 Daisy Lane Willits, California 95490 Rebuttal to Arguments For If you are a district utility customer who pays your water and sewer bill every month, this measure is not what you think. This measure is a cost shifting measure. This measure would benefit only those who have active connections, but who choose not to receive service. This measure would leave you to pick up their share of maintaining the overall system. s/ Mike Chapman Mike Chapman, General Manager Brooktrails Township CSD Dated: 8-11-2010

This measure will not reduce utility rates in Brooktrails except for customers that have active "utility connections with service" that have been temporarily disconnected by customer choice. Brooktrails collects primary utility operating costs through a base rate. If customers with active connections to the system can evade a proportionate contribution to the base rate, then those evaded costs would have to be collected from other customers who occupy their homes and receive ongoing service. In other words, unless your home is vacant your rates would increase by reason of this measure. This measure would provide relief to those homes who, while remaining connected to our utility service, decline to receive utility service. Since the primary costs are presently recovered by the base rates, the exemption of a class of ratepayers such as the one proposed in this initiative, would, in fact, require those not in the exempted class to pick up a further proportionate share. As it stands now, each home in Brooktrails with an active utility connection pays a proportionate share of the primary operating costs. This measure, for example, would exempt owners of homes such as banks who have foreclosed upon a home and the home remains vacant. The primary costs for utility service includes debt payment upon upgrades to the utility system mandated by regulators. Examples include the 2006 upgrade(s) to the water plant, the 2008 modification of the Lake Emily Dam, and the ongoing City sewer plant upgrade. These costs should be spread among all customers with active connections to the utility system. This measure would exempt a certain class from any payment at all, and raising the costs of the other vast majority of connections. s/ Mike Chapman Mike Chapman + General Manager Brooktrails Township CSD 24860 Birch Street, Willits, CA 95490 Dated: 7-29-2010 Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure D should not raise rates. Brooktrails is expected to receive $25,672 in annual base rate revenue from 24 new water connections it recently received, and $569,064 from selling 24 new connections. This will more than offset the $22,463 in lost annual base rates from the estimated 21 parcels that might discontinue service if Measure D passes. The Willits sewage treatment plant has often been used as an excuse for raising rates. Brooktrails' 37.69% share of loans for the new sewage plant will require an estimated payment of $21.88 per month per parcel (including interest) if divided among the 1428 sewer connections. These loans don't justify the $53 per month in sewer base rates. Likewise, improvements to the water system do not justify the average estimated $49.52 per month collected from 1532 parcels in water base rates and water usage fees. Brooktrails is financially solid. Recently, Brooktrails was unable to obtain federal grant money as Willits did because Brooktrails was deemed to be in compliance with regulations and not in need of grant money. Expressing confidence in the District's financial strength, the General Manager included a 38% increase in administrative salaries in this year's budget. Overall, Brooktrails budgeted wages and benefits are up from $790,281 in 2003, to $1,212,297 in 2010. But the District's financial strength is not the issue. Property owners should have control of the charges on their property, not Brooktrails. Measure D will return control of charges to property owners. Submitted by: s/ David Paland David Paland 25581 Daisy Lane Willits, California 95490

Full Text of Measure D

AN INITATIVE TO PREVENT THE BROOKTRAILS TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY SERVICES DISTRICT FROM IMPOSING MANDATORY WATER AND SEWER BASE RATES AFTER SERVICE HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED Section 1. Purpose The purpose of this initiative is to prevent the District from charging fees for water and sewer services after the District turns off water service for non-payment or after the customer has requested that their water be turned off. It is intended return control of fees for water and sewer services back to the property owner. Section 2. Charging after Service Discontinued or Charging Service Charges Based on Pipes Connected to Water or Sewer System Prohibited The Brooktrails Township Community Services District shall not collect base rate service charges, or any other service charges, for water or sewer service, for more than two days after the customer has requested discontinuance of service. The District shall not require that a parcel owner relinquish a water or sewer connection as a condition of discontinuing service. The District shall not impose a fee for more than the reasonable cost of turning the service back on when the property owner requests resumption of service. Merely having pipes connected to the District's water or sewer system is not a service that may be charged for. Section 3. Interpretation and Severability This Initiative shall be interpreted so as to be consistent with all federal and state laws, rules, and regulations. If any section, sub-section, sentence, clause, phrase, part, or portion of this Initiative is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a final judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Initiative. The voters hereby declare that this initiative, and each section, sub-section, sentence, clause, phrase, part, or portion thereof would have been adopted or passed even if one or more sections, sub-sections, sentences, clauses, phrases, parts, or portions are declared invalid or unconstitutional. If any provision of this initiative is held invalid as applied to any person or circumstance, such invalidity shall not affect any application of this initiative that can be given effect without the invalid application. This Initiative shall be broadly construed in order to achieve the purposes stated in the initiative.