SAC MIN 1993-06-09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Ramchandani said the City purchases its water through San Francisco Water Department and we have 14 pump stations with sewer lines throughout the City. In February 1990, it cost Redwood City .25 cents per unit of water purchased from San Francisco and in 1993, it cost us .866 cents per unit. He explained that in previous years the City Council decided to defer various Capital Improvement Projects in order to pay for increased water costs, but due to the State budget crisis, the City is unable to continue to cover the additional costs. Mr. Ramchandani said that $4.5 million or 9.7% of the City's general fund will go to the State and the the City Council has asked each department to prepare a zero-based budget in order to meet the anticipated budget cuts. In addition, the City Council does not want to have any layoffs because it does not want to reduce service levels to the citizens. BFI Rates-Brian Ponty Acting Finance Director Brian Ponty gave some history of garbage rates and how the rates are determined. He explained that until 7-8 years ago, cities used to negotiate individual contracts for different services such as garbage collection. At the time, several cities on the Peninsula formed the Joint Powers Authority (JPA) which enabled them to negotiate contracts collectively and in turn obtain better prices for their citizens. The JPA can also negotiate operating changes collectively. Mr. Ponty explained that garbage collection rates are determined by the operating costs of landfill , the transfer station and the collection process. Landfill costs are regulated by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, the transfer station by the City of San Carlos, and the collection process by each individual City Council. Mr. Ponty said the BFI rates increased in 1992 due to AB 939 which requires that by 1995, cities divert 25% of their landfill and by the year 2000, must divert 50%. The rate increase helped purchase the building next to the transfer station which will be used to build a material recovery plant to assist in the recycling process. Garbage collection rates for 1993 will not be set until October. Debbie Sargeant of BFI explained that recycling is not a profitable venture but it helps reduce the amount of landfill we use. She said BFI is regulated by State and Federal laws and must be in compliance laws in order to operate. Ms. Sargeant noted our current landfill will last for 23 more years. BFI began the process to expand our current landfill in 1986 and has spent $60 million so far in the application process and the on environmental impact report. She mentioned landfill rates have increased because of the number of permits applied for and the costs associated with the process. Ms. Sargeant announced that next year there will be a "green waste truck" which will come into our communities and will pick up garden waste to be recycled. BFI estimates that currently 20% of the garbage collected at residences is garden waste and this effort should help decrease the amount of material going into our landfill. Ms. Sargeant noted BFI have recycling bins for apartment complexes and will prepare notices for the tenants to advise them on the process. ITEM 2- Vital Concerns of Seniors Survey Tally Report Chairperson Anthony said that because he has been ill for the past month, he has been unable to finish the tally. Supervisor Kucala and Joan Ferguson will be working to complete the report.