BY BRIAN HEWS
After seeing three years of disallowed rate increases, the Cerritos City Council, led by Mayor Naresh Solanki, Mayor pro tem Chuong Vo and Councilman Bruce Barrows, voted to give Cerritos’ city trash hauler CalMet a 16% residential increase.
The increase was a combination of the last three years of non-approval to raise the rates.
In 2017 a new agreement with CalMet dictated the maximum rates the company could charge Cerritos residents.
The agreement included a provision for CalMet to submit an annual request to adjust the maximum allowable rate that can be charged. In 2018 they submitted their request for a 5% residential increase and a 4.3% commercial increase; that request was denied on a 3-2 vote.
In July 2019, CalMet submitted a second request but this time the company submitted an extraordinary rate adjustment as allowed by the contract.
CalMet proposed a 14% increase to commercial bins while freezing residential rates at current levels, but sensing that would not pass, at CalMet’s request, the item was removed from the agenda.
This year CalMet submitted a proposal for a 16% residential increase, 13.7% commercial bin increase, and an 18% commercial roll-off increase.
According to staff reports, CalMet would earn an additional $1.3 million providing the city nearly $193,000 in franchise fees, but residents would see their bill go from $17.60 to $20.42, an increase of $2.82.
CalMet’s former residential rates in Cerritos were one of the lowest of surrounding cities surveyed; with the new rate increase it is right about in the middle, $4 less than Whittier, $3 less than La Mirada and Downey.
The rate increases were approved on a 3-2 vote with Councilpersons Grace Hu and Frank Yokoyama voting no.
Councilman Yokoyama was not happy with the vote, “Calmet is working fast to take the money from Cerritos residents and Cerritos businesses. Last week Thursday night, the Cerritos City Council approved the Calmet requested rate increases by a vote of 3-2. Naresh, Chuong and Bruce voted yes to approve the rate increases. Grace and I voted no.”
Yokoyama continued, “Grace, Mark Pulido and I also voted no to Calmet rate increases in 2018. Interestingly, Calmet was ready to mail trash bills with the higher rates the very next day Friday, and Cerritos residents received those higher trash bills Monday. As I explained at last Thursday’s City Council meeting, the Calmet rate increases approved by Naresh, Chuong and Bruce means Cerritos residents and businesses will pay Calmet an additional eight million dollars over the remaining seven years of the contract.“
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Now all 15,000 homes will be taxed for the dreaded BB School Mello Roos Bond and now the trash can service increase. Three (3) Republican Council people, passed the increase in trash rates. Done deal from day one, since the owner of Calmet is a former Ret. Cerritos city council person, share holder at Cerritos Auto Mall and Ret. Los Angeles County Board of supervisor, plus the contract for trash services had not gone out for bid for many years..
Addition, if the seniors want to have personal mobile valet trash can service, it’s an additional $70 a month. For a City who brags about 50% percent of the city being seniors, this new trash can contract did nothing for the seniors. Cerritos city council just ignores the seniors, next time around please do not vote for any of these.
Newbies in to the city have to remember, many of today’s seniors, who moved in to Cerritos in 1960’s, are widowers, no 401 K retirement and received very small social security token. Many seniors are forced to rent out rooms to make ends meet. Many of these oldies, purchased their Cerritos homes for $20K, which was a lot of money back then. Know the contract which was approved is based on household incomes of $85K.
Nothing was discussed about the size of the robotic trash cans, nothing about poss. of designing a front yard coral courtyard of the trash cans. Cans are too large for some older seniors, many of them are getting injured trying to manipulate the cans from the house to street. ..
Many residents are tired that the Cerritos property preservation is citing trash can owners, because of a illegal staging of the trash cans. All of this should have been addressed, as the meeting for the trash can segment, went on until 11:15 p.m.
Staffer Mike Ogrady, many residents feel did a very poor job of drafting and presenting the 2020 Trash Can Ordinance, which will hit us Sept 2020.
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