OJAI : Water District Rates, Budget on Agenda

The Casitas Municipal Water District is holding three public hearings Wednesday to raise water rates, increase board members’ pay and adopt a $7-million budget for the 1990-91 fiscal year.

If the new rates are approved, the district’s 2,400 residential customers throughout Ojai Valley will see their bills increase from 5% to 10% in July, depending on user category.

The average bimonthly residential rate would go up about $2 from the current figure of $27.14.

Another 400 agricultural and commercial customers’ rates will increase between 6.5% to 10%, according to their type of water use.

The overall 8.2% average rate hike will generate $258,000 annual revenue for the district. The increase is to cover a 7% rise in the cost of operating the district, officials said, and the expected drop in water sales from conservation efforts.

This hike is in addition to the 2.75% annual increase for the next eight years the board adopted in April to cover operating costs for a future water treatment plant.

A public hearing will be held Wednesday on a proposal to raise the five directors’ fees from $121.55 to $127.53 for each day they meet to discuss district business. The number of days they meet varies from about three to six or more per month.

The draft $7-million budget includes $150,000 for a design study to import state aqueduct water and $400,000 for part of the design costs to build a combination treatment and hydroelectric power plant proposed at the base of Casitas Dam.

The budget also includes $40,000 to develop a pilot program to charge large water consumers in the Rincon area higher rates for irrigating in the afternoon. That’s when Southern California Edison bills more for the electricity to pump the water.

Casitas plans to expand the pilot program districtwide in the next five years. Officials hope that it will be an incentive to their customers to reduce peak demands on the system. The board meets at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the district office, 1055 Ventura Ave., Oak View.