Countywide : Water Board Backs Property Tax Levy

The board of the Calleguas Municipal Water District has given tentative approval to a $10 levy on property that is within its service area in Ventura County.

The levy, which would become effective with property tax bills this fall, would raise about $2.5 million and help the district recoup an estimated loss of $3.5 million in revenue from property taxes, officials said.

The Legislature diverted 40% of that money to schools and community colleges this year and is expected to divert all of it in the next fiscal year.

Calleguas General Manager Donald R. Kendall said the Calleguas board will conduct at least two public hearings within its service area, probably in May, before taking a final vote on imposing the levy.

By selecting the tax levy, the board chose not to raise Calleguas’ water rates.

Calleguas is Ventura County’s largest water wholesaler. It supplies some or all of the water for public and private water companies in Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Moorpark and Oxnard. Those companies serve nearly half a million customers.

At a later meeting, the board will consider doubling the fees for new connections, President Patrick Miller said.

H. Jere Robings, president of the Ventura County Alliance of Taxpayers, said his association opposes the property tax levy.

Such levies are becoming an increasingly popular way for revenue-strapped public agencies to raise money.

The board also voted Wednesday to refinance $62.5 million in debt that it issued in November, 1991, to pay for a new filtration plant at Bard Reservoir.

Margaret Chan of O’Brien Partners Inc., the district’s financial adviser, said Calleguas could save $177,000 a year by taking advantage of today’s lower interest rates.