Ex-Councilman Wants to Slash Fees on Utilities

Former Garden Grove Councilman Bob “Tax Fighter” Dinsen considers the current City Council a little too liberal. But then again, he also thinks Barry Goldwater was a little too liberal.

So it’s no surprise he’s actively campaigning to bring a local initiative to the November 2000 ballot to prohibit the city from using administrative overhead charges from local utility bills for other general city purposes.

Basically, he doesn’t want people paying more for services than what they cost. He calls administrative overhead charges “just another tax.”

City officials say the charges simply represent the city’s cost for providing services and that those costs will not go away by eliminating the charges from specific service bills.

Still, Dinsen is walking the neighborhoods four days a week, determined to make the city tighten its belt, as he said much of the community has had to do in recent years.

At his last check, he had collected about 2,900 signatures. How many more he needs is still a question to be decided by city officials, who say he needs signatures from 10% of the registered voters in Garden Grove--about 5,600 signatures.

But Dinsen contends a provision in the state Constitution requires signatures from only 5% of the city’s voters who cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election; that would be about 1,000 signatures. City officials are researching the provision and expect to have a decision this week.

Either way, Dinsen said, he’s going to continue to walk the neighborhoods, bringing the issue to the people of Garden Grove.

And for the most part, people are responding, said Dinsen, adding that about 90% of the people he approaches sign the petition.

“It doesn’t take too much to get people to sign,” he said on a recent afternoon signature drive. “I just explain what the situation is and they sign it if they’re ready.”

Resident Philip Bock was one. “You’re paying $11 for the water bill, $6 for the service fee and $18 for the rate increase,” he said. “It stinks.”

With this initiative, Dinsen is hoping to find the success he couldn’t get as a council member. For 18 years, Dinsen was the lone voice of opposition on the City Council when it came to spending money.

Chris Ceballos can be reached at (714) 966-7440