Politics & Government

Utility Tax Hike Passed by Arcadia City Council, Residents to See $7 Bill Increase

The city expects to raise $2 million annually by increasing tax rates on water, gas, and electric bills.

The Arcadia City Council passed a utility tax hike Tuesday in a 4-1 vote that will raise the tax rates residents pay on their water, gas and electric bills.

Residents presently pay 5 percent utility user tax rates on gas and electric bills and zero percent for water services but the City Council has the authority to increase each rate to 7 percent and voted to do so at its regular meeting. City leaders who voted for the increase said it was necessary to prevent the city from running a budget deficit as soon as 2016.

"We need to look long term, we need to take care that a few years down the road the city is better off than it is now," Councilman Robert Harbicht said.

The increase will raise the average resident's monthly utility bills by about $7, according to city estimates.

Councilman Peter Amundson cast the lone dissenting vote and said that he couldn't support the increase because the money raised from the hike—expected to be about $2 million annually—cannot be legally earmarked for the city's capital improvement and equipment replacement funds. The money will go into the general fund, but it is intended to bolster those funds in the future, according to City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto.

"I think Californians right now are taxed more than they should be," Amundson said.

The council is required to reconsider the rates annually under the terms of the amended ordinance passed Tuesday.


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