OJAI : Residents Save $20 as Sewer Bond Paid Off

Ojai has paid off its only general obligation bond, which ends a $20 annual sewer tax for about 2,800 property owners.

The bonds, sold in 1963, raised $938,000 to improve the city sewer system, Finance Director Cyndi Reynolds said.

Residents were not assessed the $20 tax during the current tax year because the city intended to redeem the bonds early, instead of 1993, Reynolds said.

“People should have seen they didn’t have to pay it,” she said. “But with everything else going up, they probably didn’t notice. At least, no one called to thank me.”

The city’s annual bond payments rose from $10,000 to $70,000 over the years, Reynolds said. “We called them in early to get them out of the way,” she said.