CARLSBAD: City proposing to raise many fees

Water bills, boat launch costs, park rentals all slated to increase

By BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Wednesday, June 11, 2008 5:59 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- Residential water bills, boat-launch fees at Agua Hedionda Lagoon and even the cost to rent a picnic area in a city park may increase in the coming year as Carlsbad looks for ways to cover its expenses, a new city budget document indicates.

Just about anyone who lives in the city may feel the pinch of these proposed fee increases, but senior citizens on fixed incomes may find them particularly distressing, said a representative for a regional nonprofit that assists low-income people.

"For those seniors who are already watching where every fine dime goes ... these things start to add up," said Rebecca Steiner of Interfaith Community Services' senior services division.

Gasoline prices have already soared, food prices continue to climb and some seniors are facing hard choices about whether to cut back on how much they eat or how much medication they use in order to save money to cover their other bills, Steiner said.

The proposed fee increases are outlined in a budget report released by the city last week.

When Carlsbad raised its monthly utility rates last year, it received several letters of protest from seniors in town, city officials said. This year, the water-fee increase proposal is much higher --- 20 percent, versus a 9 percent increase last year.

People living in single-family homes now pay on average $45.56 per month for their water, according to the city. That's slated to go up to $54.82 ---- an increase of $9.26 a month, starting Nov. 1.

Want to have water service shut off and then restarted a while later? The reconnect fee is scheduled to increase from $20 to $100.

"That is the true cost" to send an employee out to restart the service, city senior accountant Helga Stover said Wednesday, adding that the city has subsidized the cost in previous years.

These days, however, Carlsbad and many other communities across the state are rethinking such subsidies and scrutinizing all expenses, given a stalled economy and the state's recent budget woes.

Carlsbad's finance department predicts that the city's general fund, the fund that pays for everything from firefighter salaries to paper supplies, will collect $120.7 million in revenue in the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. That revenue figure includes the proposed fee increases.

The revenue forecast for the coming year is only a slight increase from the $120.2 million the city expects to collect this year, and significantly less than the $124.5 million the city collected in 2006-07.

Expenses are projected to be $118.3 million in the coming year, up from the current year's figure of $116.5 million and the 2006-07 figure of $108.6 million.

Carlsbad's finance director told the City Council Tuesday night that she was concerned about losing upward of $500,000 that the city typically receives through special state programs because of the state budget situation. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is predicting a state budget shortfall of $15.2 billion.

Not all the increases are tied to the nation's economic woes or the state budget.

The city's water bills are expected to rise because the region's water providers are planning to charge more in the coming year, Mayor Bud Lewis said. Statewide drought conditions and environmental issues involving a fish in the Sacramento delta region have been blamed for those extra costs.

The nearly $10 extra per month that Carlsbad residents may pay for water isn't the only utility bill increase the city is contemplating, according to the budget report. Sewer rates are proposed to increase from $16.20 a month to $17.65 a month, a 9 percent jump.

Some city fees are proposed to remain the same. Trash bills won't change and the fee for overdue library books will hold steady at 25 cents a day, the report states. The cost of a "learn-to-swim" class at the city's Monroe Street pool is slated to stay the same, according to a city fee schedule.

But people who want to host a big birthday bash or a family reunion at a city park or recreation center could pay $1 to $15 more per hour, depending on the size of their event and the type of facility they rent, Stover said.

And boating enthusiasts could find it costs more to launch a vessel at Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Both annual permit fees and daily user fees may go up. Residents who have power boats that are more than eight feet long will pay an extra $4 a year for an annual permit, according to the new fee schedule.

The proposed budget, which is now working its way through the city review process, is scheduled to be approved by the City Council at its June 24 meeting. Some fees will be authorized directly by that vote, others will have separate hearings later. The utility rate hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9.