Council Approves New Utility Fee

A divided City Council on Tuesday approved a 2.85% utility fee that will become effective Jan. 1 to pay for public benefit programs.

The increase means the average residential customer will pay $1.42 more a month on a $50 utility bill.

The state-mandated fee, effective through 2001, will raise about $7 million a year locally for programs including discounts for low-income seniors, energy-efficiency efforts and conservation education.

Councilmen Tom Tait and Bob Zemel voted against the fee, saying other options should be considered before imposing a new fee.

In a separate action, the council ended an agreement with Southern California Edison Co. for a small percentage of power supply needs. The city will be able to sell its excess power on the open market.

The council also approved hiring three consultants for $293,800 to assist the city in evaluating proposals from private firms for possible utility takeover or merger. The city is examining many ways to make its utility more competitive in anticipation of electric industry deregulation next year.