Antonio Did It

Took a phone call this morning from an angry City Council aide. He didn't much like today's editorial, in which we excoriated the council for voting unanimously to accelerate trash-fee hikes:

Remember last year, when the Los Angeles City Council jacked up trash fees, and promised to do it again in 2008?

Well, council members got a little greedy. They couldn't stand the thought of having to wait until January to get more of your money. So on Tuesday, they voted - unanimously - to accelerate the rate hike.

That means garbage fees, which were $11 just a year ago, will go up -- from $22 to $26 -- starting in September, four months early.

The official explanation for the hike is that it will help speed up the hiring of more cops. The truth, however, is a different matter.

The aide was particularly frustrated that we singled out the council for this offense. Even though the council did approve the plan unanimously, he thought we should have noted that it was Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who came up with the idea. Fair enough.

So, to give credit where it is due, let the word be told: Both the council and the mayor want to rip you off to pay for their excesses.