Calabasas : Las Virgenes to Boost Water Bills by 5%

Customers of the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District will see a 5% increase on their utility bills beginning next month.

The agency says it is passing along increased costs, including a hike in water rates by its supplier, the Metropolitan Water District.

Las Virgenes’ board of directors, meeting Tuesday, also voted to levy a tax on land parcels--including many remote plots that don’t receive district water--to raise almost $500,000 annually.

The board also raised connection fees for new homes from $9,420 to $10,160.

Residential customers will pay about $3.40 more a month for water and sewer services, which average about $774 a year, district officials said. The increase is expected to raise about $1 million annually for the agency.

The agency says the parcel tax will free the district from depending too much on water rates, which are an unreliable source of funds--especially in drought years.

Under the system, landowners will pay $10 for any parcel one acre or less, and $10 an acre for anything over an acre. Exempt are public lands, open space and parcels the district deems undevelopable.

The increase will be included in the customers’ next tax bills, which come out in November, the district said. Some 30,000 property owners will be affected.

The district, which recently passed a $39.4-million fiscal 1995-96 budget, says revenues are down because of a drop in new connection fees.

But critics say the district has spent carelessly, citing as a case in point its decision to build a new $8-million headquarters on Las Virgenes Road. The district, critics say, should have foreseen difficult times ahead and curtailed spending accordingly.

But district officials say it’s unfair to place the burden of operation costs on current customers, and that the cost should be shared by future customers.

The district supplies water to 60,000 people in a 122-square mile area covering Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village and various unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.