City, Sanitary District Fight Over Who’ll Take Out Trash

A county agency could decide tonight the fate of the Garden Grove Sanitary District, which is wrestling with the city over who will be in charge of trash collection and sewage systems.

City officials are proposing to take over the 72-year-old sanitary district, arguing that it is inefficient and an unnecessary layer of government.

District officials, however, say the city is interested mainly in the district’s property tax and user fees so it can balance the city budget, which is facing a $6-million shortfall in fiscal 1996-97.

The district collects $915,000 in property taxes and $4.9 million in fees annually, said Ron Cates, the district’s general manager.

A state law requires that consolidations between public agencies must be approved by Local Agency Formation Commission. LAFCO could make a decision on the issue after a public hearing today.

Sheldon Singer, the sanitary district’s chairman, said the district, which employs eight people and charges the average household $14.30 a month for trash and sewer services, is cost-effective.

But Councilman Mark Leyes said of sanitary district officials: “They may be running it as efficiently as they can as a separate entity, but we don’t need two boards, two rents, two offices and two billing departments.”

If LAFCO approves the takeover, Leyes said, that would not solve the city’s financial problems. Sanitary district revenue cannot be transferred into the city’s general fund, he said.

The city’s proposal calls for converting the sanitary district into a subsidiary to be governed by the City Council. It also calls for serving parts of the city that are now part of the Midway City Sanitary District.

“Are they really going to get rid of a layer of government by pushing the five [sanitary district] officials out and putting themselves in our place?” Singer asked.

The public hearing is at 6 p.m. today in the Board of Supervisors Hearing Room, 10 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana.