Pasadena City Council meeting preview

The cupboard is kind of bare for today's city council meeting, with few actions of immediate impact. However, I do believe there will be an interesting discussion about the city's future water plan.

Last month, after a long-discussed water savings plan was shot down by the City Council, several members expressed a lack of confidence in the Pasadena Water and Power department, and accused Phyllis Currie, the chief of the department of being unprepared and not thinking through the plan carefully. They asked her to revamp her thinking about water and present a new plan in six months, with a preview in one month.

That preview is tonight, and the staff report has some ideas worth kicking around, specifically water rate structure plans that would incentivize saving water. I wrote about similar plans used by the city of Irvine that have made it one of the most efficient water-using cities in the state:

Commission Chairman Michael Hurley joined some council members in recommending the department use a "budget-based" billing system. Under that system, officials determine how much water each household uses, based on occupancy and the lot size of the property. The amount is billed at a certain rate, with progressively higher rates charged for exceeding the amount.

The water report also deals with the possibility of spending $37 million to treat some local water sources that could account for 5 percent of the city's water use. It also warns that the city's water funds are dangerously low, and rate hikes may be needed in the future, and asks the Council for direction on what its priorities should be over the next few years: focusing on a new water incentive use plan, or crafting a plan that potentially penalizes people who waste water more, or working on increasing water supply.

On non-water issues, the city is also asking the Council to authorize it to put campaign fiscal disclosure forms on the website for city and local school board candidates. Good on the council if they vote to do this, and huge raspberries to them if they do not. They would be one of a select few cities that do this, I believe Glendora does it, and the city staff report says Los Angeles, Glendale, and Burbank do it. I notice Pasadena likes to be in the company of Glendale and Burbank in what they do (i.e. those cities have quiet night helicopters, then Pasadena got them).

The city will also meet in closed session once again and continue negotiations for several locations where it might want to locate an oft-discussed urgent care clinic.

Finally, the city is looking at a number of routine contracts and landmark home designations. The usual business.