BREA : Bills for Municipal Services to Go Up

Starting July 1, residents and business owners probably will be getting higher bills for water, trash collection and street sweeping.

The City Council will consider today a request by the city’s trash hauler, Brea Disposal Inc., to increase trash collection by 65 cents, from $11.29 to $11.94, for residents using 100-gallon trash bins. Street-sweeping rates will go up by 11 cents for single-family homes and 38.4 cents for multifamily dwelling units, said city financial director Larry Hurst in a report to the council.

Hurst said water rates will also rise by an average of $1.60 per month for most homeowners. The last increase was two years ago, he said. If approved, the rates will take effect July 1.

The rate adjustments are among 17 items on the consent calendar, which the council routinely approves. A member of the council or anyone in the audience, however, may ask the council to discuss and vote on an item or items separately.

Hurst said that under the current contract with Brea Disposal, the city has to review the rates every year and make adjustments, if necessary. Last year, trash fees went up 96 cents, he said.

For street sweeping, single-family homes will now pay $1.75, up from $1.64, or an increase of 6.7%, Hurst said. For apartments and other multidwelling units, the increase is 38.4 cents per unit, he said.

Water use is calculated by volume with residents charged per CCF, or hundred cubic foot. One CCF is 748 gallons. The rates will go up from $1.10 per CCF to $1.18. For the average Brea resident, who uses 20 CCFs per month, the increase is $1.60 monthly, he said.

Hurst said the increase in the water rates is necessary because the Metropolitan Water District of Orange County has increased its own rates twice in two years, from $264 per acre-foot to $385 per acre-foot.

Hurst said the city gets 80% of its water from the MWD. The remaining water is bought from Cal Domestic, which has not increased its rates.