Southern California Cities Over Charged For Water – $80 Million Lawsuit, According to News Hawks Review
COMMERCE, Calif., July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — “The cities we represent have been wrongly charged for millions of dollars for years. It is our job to step up and help them retrieve the money owed to them by WRD,” Aguilar said.
The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is not complying with California Constitution according to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant. The judge made this ruling on April 25, 2011.
“WRD is a public agency and needs to act as such,” said Art Aguilar, the General Manager of Central Basin Municipal Water District.
“For WRD to continue to disregard the requirements of the law and imposed hefty assessments on our cities year after year without public consent is not only unjust, it is unacceptable,” he added.
Central Basin has served a lawsuit against WRD seeking over $80 million in damages for local cities, stakeholders and entities that pump water in Los Angeles County. Central Basin is suing for the, “unlawful collection of an annual Replenishment Assessment since 2006.”
“Lynwood residents will appreciate that Central Basin is advocating for them. If the courts rule that our residents have been overcharged for water, it is important that we get that money back from the Water Replenishment District,” Aide Castro, Mayor of Lynwood, told News Hawks Review.
A veteran City Council member in Bell Gardens also praised Central Basin for its decision.
“I am happy to hear that Central Basin is looking out for the Cities and the residents it serves. As City Council members, we are elected to make sure that we provide the necessary services our residents need, and water, obviously, is one of them. If Bell Gardens residents have been over charged by the WRD, we need to pursue repayment,” said Councilman Pedro Aceituno.
Judge Chalfant ruled that the WRD’s replenishment assessment is a tax on a property right because water rights can be sold, bought or leased, just like real estate. And Proposition 218, which Californians passed over a decade ago, requires voter approval on the increased assessments, which the WRD didn’t do. The lawsuit was filed against WRD by the cities of Cerritos, Downy and Signal Hill. It is estimated those three cities could collect as much as $19 million.
Resource: http://newshx.com/local
Contact: Mike Adams
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mikeadams@newshx.com
SOURCE News Hawks Review