Wachs Seeks Speedy Refund of Sewer Fees to Residents

City Councilman Joel Wachs on Wednesday called on Los Angeles city officials to find a way to speed up refunds of $4 million to $5 million to residents who mistakenly paid for sewer services they did not receive.

Wachs’ motion, if approved by the City Council, would go beyond an amendment to state law that becomes effective next year, requiring the city to begin repaying the money by July 1, 1991. Wachs’ proposal would require the refunds to be made as soon as his measure is approved.

The councilman’s proposal also instructs the city Department of Public Works to determine who is eligible for the refunds, and it would require that notices explaining who is exempt from sewer fees be printed in Spanish and other languages. The notices, sent annually with water bills, are now printed only in English.

Department of Water and Power billing procedures that took effect in 1978 charged all water customers for sewer services whether or not they were connected to the sewer system. Users of septic tanks and other private disposal systems could apply for exemptions, but many failed to do so because they did not read or could not understand the annual inserts, said Wachs’ spokesman, Greg Nelson.

“We think that may be where the problem is--a lot of people in older homes not reading English very well,” Nelson said. “Of course, those are the people that could use the refunds the most.”

Nelson said the proposal is expected to come before the council for a vote in mid-December.

City officials do not know exactly how many people are entitled to refunds, but with households paying an average of $10.43 a month in sewer fees, officials said some residents could receive refunds of several thousand dollars.

Wachs’ proposal, as well as the amendment to state law that was introduced after the situation in Los Angeles was publicized, would require the city to reimburse residents for the entire period they have been mistakenly paying the fees. But the city charter now limits refunds only to fees that accrued in the year before a reimbursement was requested.

Wachs’ proposal asks the city attorney’s office, the city administrative officer and the city engineer to ensure that the fees are paid retroactively despite the city charter’s one-year statute of limitations.

In August, the city agreed to make the fees retroactive after Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) proposed the state government code amendment. But Assistant City Atty. John Haggerty said Wednesday that the agreement is not binding until the City Council approves it.