District Atty. Says Fees Are Legal

In an opinion requested by a Hawthorne city councilwoman, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said the city did not violate Proposition 13 when it increased trash collection fees in July.

The Hawthorne City Council voted for a 10% increase in trash collection fees to help offset the city’s $2.5-million deficit for 1989-90. The increase raised the average household monthly refuse bill to $10.45 from $9.40 and will increase city revenue by $550,000 annually, city officials said.

However, the new fee drew fire from Councilwoman Ginny Lambert, who charged that the increase was actually a “disguised tax.” In August, she sent a letter to Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner to ask whether the city violated Proposition 13 by increasing the fee.

Under Proposition 13 and a later measure, Proposition 62, cities are barred from enacting new taxes without approval by a two-thirds majority of voters. However, cities can raise fees to cover the cost of providing services without a public vote.

In a letter sent to Lambert last month, Deputy Dist. Atty. James R. Hickey said: “ . . . It is not sufficiently clear that the 10% franchise fee and rate increase are a tax that is being unlawfully administered by the city.”

The letter adds: “Even assuming the instant fee is indeed found to be a tax, substantive evidence showing an intentional unlawful appropriation of public funds is lacking.”

In an interview this week, Lambert said she is not going to pursue the matter further but still believes that the new fee should have been decided by the voters.

Lambert’s letter also asked Reiner to evaluate the legality of Hawthorne’s contract with H & C Disposal Co., which has held the city’s refuse collection contract since 1957 without entering a competitive bidding process.

Hickey’s letter noted that a grand jury recommendation in 1985 suggested that the city take competitive bids for the refuse collection contract, but added that no law had been broken because the grand jury’s recommendations “do not have the force and effect of law.”