PLACENTIA

Longtime resident Luci Grismer said she’s long been fighting the city’s 4% Utility Consumption Tax, which appears monthly on telephone, electric, gas and cable bills. After what she said was more than a decade of airing her concerns and complaints at City Council meetings, Grismer approached the podium again Tuesday and chastised the council.

“Years ago, when I was much younger, employed and in good health, the utility tax on my monthly tax bill was 16 cents. . . . Now, when I’m 71 years old, unemployed and I have a terminal illness, the utility tax on my monthly tax bill is $3.96,” Grismer said. “Do you guys think that’s really fair?”

In 1970, Placentia passed a 5% Utility Consumption Tax to fund capital improvement projects, mainly the construction of a new Civic Center. The tax was to continue for at least 10 years, according to the original city resolution in August 1970. The utility tax has since fluctuated from 5% in 1970, to 3% in 1985 to its current 4%.

The tax pays for the City Hall building, street maintenance, and the purchase of equipment and vehicles for the police and maintenance departments.