[0:07] Good evening. Those of us who have joined in city council chambers and those online, my name is Anna Luke Jones. I'm the solid waste administrator for the city of Manhattan Beach. And I'd like to welcome you to the Proposition 218 community meeting tonight. I'm joined to my right with the public works director Eric Lee.

[0:30] and we also have representatives from our Solid Waste Hall or Waste Management in the

[0:37] Dias Bobby Bell, Eric Cantaro, and Kim Orte. And they will be here in case you have any

[0:45] particular questions about Waste Management Services. What we'll go over tonight is some

[0:52] key definitions, the Proposition 218 process, understanding customer types, we'll review

[0:58] you slightly, the proposed refuse rates and then talk about the public hearing.

[1:04] There's a lot of information on this slide, but for those who may be watching who aren't

[1:09] used to jargon related to solid waste or trash, just wanted to go through a few of them.

[1:15] The proposition to 18 processes, what we'll be talking about tonight, I'll be getting deeper

[1:21] into those details in just a moment on a different slide, but refuse and solid waste.

[1:29] Anytime I use those words, those are umbrella terms, meaning for any material that is to

[1:35] be disposed, it could be trash, it could be recycling, it could be organics, it could be medical

[1:40] waste, it could be hazardous waste.

[1:42] Those are umbrella general terms that are used for refuse or for disposal.

[1:49] When I talk about trash, I'm talking about things that would go in the landfill that

[1:54] are not recycled in any of our programs or there is no other location for them to

[2:03] be placed for recycling.

[2:06] And then when I mention recycling, it refers specifically if your resident, it's your blue

[2:12] cart. If you're a commercial business it might be your white bin. This is typically glass

[2:18] metal paper and select plastics. When we talk about organics we're referring to yard waste,

[2:25] food scraps, and soil paper. And all of those three go into what is known as the green cart

[2:33] for both residents and commercial businesses. The word cart is the plastic,

[2:40] wheeled flip lid container that you see around town they might be gray for

[2:45] landfill they might be blue for recycling or green for organics but those are

[2:51] always called carts and then the bins are the commercial sized bins that are

[2:57] typically metal they come in four sizes in Manhattan Beach two three four and

[3:04] six cubic yards they usually have a metal body with a plastic lid and off

[3:10] and you'll see the green ones are for landfill,

[3:14] and the white ones are for recycling.

[3:18] So what is the importance of the Proposition 218?

[3:20] Proposition 218 allows the property owners

[3:26] and rate payers to dispute rate increases

[3:30] on utility rates from being passed to the customer.

[3:35] And what you'll see from this chart are the 10,

[3:38] potential years of our franchise agreement with Waste Management. Your refuse

[3:44] service and remember refuse means all things that you would dispose. Our

[3:49] refuse service is franchised with Waste Management and so residential and

[3:55] commercial services are provided by Waste Management. When the contract was

[4:01] as it became went into effect in 2020,

[4:07] we went through the proposition to 18 process

[4:10] and that was approved for five years.

[4:13] So we are currently in the fifth year

[4:15] of the five year to 18 approval.

[4:18] What is needed, as you'll see in the chart on the right,

[4:21] is we need to go through the proposition to 18 process

[4:25] for the next five years of the contract

[4:27] in order to pass along any rate increases

[4:30] to the customer. A little bit of background about Proposition

[4:35] to 18. This was passed by California voters in 1996. And what

[4:41] it does is it puts limits on government from being able to pass

[4:46] along tax increases fees or charges on utilities, water, waste

[4:52] water, trash, or refuse, sewer. And what's required is that

[4:58] But property owners and rate payers be given a 45 day protest period to state that they

[5:05] do not want the rates to increase.

[5:08] After the 45 days, there is a public hearing with the city council and the city clerk at

[5:15] that time will read aloud how many protests they have received.

[5:21] And if there is a majority protest, and I'll go through this in another slide, if there's

[5:26] a majority protest, then the City Council is not able to pass along the rate increase

[5:33] to the customer, and the City Council has set this public hearing date for May 20th, 2025.

[5:42] So the state of California requires that the agency, which City of Manhattan Beach, send

[5:50] notice to rate payers and property owners,

[5:53] notifying them of the proposition to 18 process,

[5:57] and what it is and how to submit a protest.

[6:02] It also requires that the rate sheets,

[6:06] saying what the solid waste rates would be

[6:09] for the year one be included in that notice as well.

[6:16] What the City of Manhattan Beach does is we try to go

[6:18] over and above. We know that this is not a process that happens very often. And so it

[6:25] takes sometimes a little bit of reminders to, you know, everybody's busy. And so we

[6:30] do our best to try to communicate as well as possible that we would like for you to take

[6:37] a moment and read your notice. And if you would like to submit a protest that you have the

[6:43] ample opportunity to do that within the 45-day period. And so we're not only sending

[6:48] the notice to property owners and ratepayers, which is required, but if the property

[6:56] owner lives in another state or it's a rental as many properties are in Manhattan Beach,

[7:02] we also send the notice to the tenants so that they can understand and be given a little

[7:09] bit of a heads up that there are potential changes coming down the road for

[7:13] solid waste rates. We also are publishing print ads in the beach reporter each

[7:19] week and we have an in-story ad or a banner on beach reporter.com that is

[7:28] currently up and will be up until May 19th. Tonight's community meeting is meant to

[7:34] provide an opportunity for people who are more of an audio

[7:40] learner or you've just got questions.

[7:42] You just want to talk to someone about it.

[7:44] That's what tonight is for.

[7:46] This was also being recorded and will be posted to the City

[7:50] website.

[7:52] www dot Manhattan Beach dot geo v forward slash refuse 28 or 218

[8:00] the Refuse 218 and the recording will be on there as well.

[8:06] So what does the notice look like?

[8:09] We use a golden rod envelope so that it stands out.

[8:13] We also use additional messaging on the envelope so that it doesn't look like junk mail.

[8:18] For those of you who are looking online, I've got a sample here.

[8:23] And so this is how you would notice it.

[8:26] We think the golden rod helps that.

[8:28] and then on the screen to the right, you see page one of the notice.

[8:34] And we have created the notice in more of an FAQ format,

[8:40] so that it's much easier to follow,

[8:43] and if there's particular areas that you're curious about,

[8:48] you can just jump to those sections.

[8:52] I've already spoken a little bit about what's available on the website,

[8:55] but we do have the short URL, which is the menhattenbeach.gov forward slash refuse 218.

[9:02] We've added tonight's meeting to the city calendar. We've done e-notifications.

[9:08] I have posted on here the two ads from the beach reporter as well as the online banner.

[9:16] If you do have a pop-up blocker on your digital device,

[9:23] then you will not see the banner because it is considered an ad.

[9:30] How to protest the rate increase? There's two steps.

[9:33] The first step is to write your protest.

[9:36] So you can write this on a piece of paper. You can type it.

[9:40] You can write it by hand. You can write it on the back of an envelope.

[9:43] It is completely up to you how you would like to write your protest.

[9:48] We will need a statement stating that you are protesting the potential solid waste rate increase,

[9:56] your property's parcel number address, the property owner or the rate payer name.

[10:03] So if you are not the property owner or the rate payer, then you do not submit a protest.

[10:09] There is only one protest per parcel.

[10:11] and then we will need your written or electronic signature of the property owner or the rate payer.

[10:20] And then in step B, you're going to submit. There's three ways to submit.

[10:24] You can deliver your written protest to the city clerk at the council meeting,

[10:33] the public hearing on May 20th, from 6 p.m. to the end of the meeting.

[10:38] that will take place here in the council chambers at City Hall, 1,400 Highland Avenue.

[10:44] Option 2 is you can walk on over here, say hi to us at City Hall, and you can deliver

[10:51] that protest to the City Clerk's Office, or you can send its snail mail to the City Clerk's

[10:58] Office as well.

[10:59] The last option is to email an electronic copy of your protest, but we will need either

[11:06] an electronic or a written signature on that protest so just sending an email won't do it but if you

[11:13] include electronic or written signature then we're able to accept that. The time period we need to

[11:23] receive these protests between March 28th which is when the notice post marked to May 20th before the

[11:31] end of the public hearing. This is more than 45 days. We usually provide a little bit more than

[11:37] 45 just to make sure we're above reproach and we're giving the community the time and the space

[11:42] that they need. What happens if the city receives enough protests? So as I've mentioned earlier,

[11:48] it needs to be a majority protest. What that means is 50% plus one of the parcels. We have about 13,000

[11:57] parcels in town, so we would need at least 6,500 protests in order to overturn the council's

[12:05] ability to adopt these rates. As I mentioned earlier, if we receive a majority protest,

[12:14] the city council cannot approve the rate increase to be passed along to the customer.

[12:29] So you

[12:29] Option number one, which would likely be the direction is the city would then pay the

[12:38] increases to the rate from the general fund for the term of the contract with waste management.

[12:45] Waste management would still be paid for the increase that is outlined in their franchise agreement.

[12:53] Number two, the city council can amend its contract with waste management to reduce services to lower

[12:58] the rate. If the council felt passionate about not passing along the rate as well as not

[13:07] paying the increase from the general fund, they can direct staff to amend the franchise

[13:14] agreement to reduce or eliminate services that would equate the amount of the rate increase.

[13:24] And then number three, at any time, if this process is, the rate adjustment is overturned.

[13:33] The City Council can initiate a prop 218 process, again, at any time.

[13:37] They don't need to wait for a certain time period before doing it again.

[13:43] So you might wonder what makes a customer rate.

[13:46] In the City of Manhattan Beach, there are typically two things that make a customer rate.

[13:51] It's what the contractor charges, which is waste management, and then the city recovery cost.

[13:56] For those who've lived in town a while, you may notice on your utility bill that there's a CRC or a city recovery cost.

[14:05] And this is essentially the cost to run the program.

[14:09] So it could be the time spent managing the contract.

[14:15] In fact, it could be the various solid waste charges and activities, maintenance, and

[14:25] for water sewer, you're also getting increment amounts with billing staff.

[14:33] So that is typically what the city recovery cost is.

[14:36] And that has recalculated every single year.

[14:39] And then for this upcoming proposition 218 we have one additional factor which is a one time special adjustment that was approved by the City Council on December 3rd of 2024 and if you haven't had a chance to watch that council meeting.

[15:08] All of the changes that occurred from there. And as I mentioned, that was December 3rd, 2024,

[15:25] or in case you're interested in reading that staff report

[15:27] or watching that presentation.

[15:31] So let's talk a little bit about the different types

[15:34] of customers, single family cart customers.

[15:38] You are going to be either in a single family home

[15:41] or you have your own water meter

[15:44] if you're in a multifamily complex.

[15:47] And you typically will have your three cart system,

[15:51] the landfill trash, recycling, and the organics.

[15:53] In the city of Manhattan Beach, for single family cart customers, your rate is determined

[16:00] by the size and quantity of your landfill trash cart.

[16:06] There's no separate charges for recycling or organics.

[16:11] So I know there's a lot on the screen, I'm going to highlight a couple of things.

[16:15] We're getting into what exactly these potential rate changes would be.

[16:19] When you look at your proposition to 18 notice, after the initial notice you're

[16:25] going to see series of rate sheets and you're going to want to look for the

[16:32] single-family customer rate. We offer multiple sizes of carts in town.

[16:40] We have

[16:41] the 20 and the 35 and some folks wonder what is the 20 all about. We have some

[16:46] super recyclers in town and we also have some folks that have properties that might have been

[16:53] around during horse and buggy. So they may not be able to fit a 35 gallon cart in their side gate

[17:00] and so the 20 gallon cart is offered as a courtesy for any property owner who simply just does not have

[17:07] the space or they are a super recycler and they don't generate a lot of landfill trash.

[17:14] So, the current customer rate, which is the all-in rate, like I talked about before, with

[17:20] the contractor amount and the CRC, it's currently 1776, okay?

[17:27] Once we have an increase from December, like I had mentioned that, one time COVID adjustment

[17:35] increase, which is the 2.51% we called it special on this screen. And then CPI. CPI is the consumer price index.

[17:48] It is what we use to determine rate adjustments with our franchise agreement with waste management.

[17:56] That methodology is written into the franchise agreement and it is also included in the proposition to 18 process.

[18:03] us. So for the next several years, till the end of the current term, annual rate adjustments

[18:11] will be determined by the Consumer Price Index or the CPI. So for a 20 and 35-gallon

[18:19] trash cart, the CPI and special increase altogether would be an increase of $1.17. So that's an increase

[18:30] to the WM rate. The CRC that we talked about, which is the city recovery cost, is 5 percent,

[18:38] and that would be 90 cents. So the proposed all-in customer rate, that's the three elements,

[18:45] that's the CPI, which is the contractor rate, the one-time special rate increase, and the CRC,

[18:54] is 1898 and the difference between what you're paying now and what you would

[19:01] potentially pay starting July 1 is a dollar and 22 cents. That would be the

[19:07] increase if you're a 35 gallon trash cart customer single family. So now that

[19:13] I've gone through that explanation this will go through quicker 65 gallon which

[19:17] is the majority of the city you're currently paying 2306 a month. You might say

[19:22] Wait a minute. That's not true. My bill says 40 something. For single-family residents, you get

[19:29] billed every two months. So you're going to see two months worth of service on your bill.

[19:36] So we've got the $1.52 increase for the CPI and the special. CRC would be $1.17. Your new all-in

[19:45] customer rate would be 2465 that is with 65 gallon trash cart and that's an

[19:51] increase of $1.59 a month okay and then as you can see down here the 95

[19:57] gallon trash cart you'd be seeing an increase of $1.96 a month.

[20:03] The next type of

[20:04] customer is a multi-family cart customer. These are duplexes, triplexes, quad

[20:11] It is a property that has two units to nine units, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and it's one water meter for all of the units.

[20:24] And the same as the single family.

[20:30] Actually, you know what, there is an error on this side, so I'm going to go here.

[20:34] So for a multi-family cart, customers, it is a flat rate, it is a flat rate, two to nine units.

[20:44] So it is not dependent on the number of carts.

[20:49] Two units, you're currently paying 41-51 a month.

[20:54] You've got the increases that we talked about, 273, the CRC.

[20:59] your new all-in would be $44.37. So if you have a duplex in town with one water

[21:06] meter, your new customer rate would be $44.37 and that's an increase of two

[21:12] dollars and 86 cents a month.

[21:17] Three units, four units. We're looking at an

[21:19] increase of $4.30, $5.74. The next type of customer is commercial carts. So for

[21:30] commercial, there is a charge for landfill trash and it's not just based on the

[21:38] cart size and the quantity but it's also based on your collection frequency.

[21:44] So how many times a week are you having your trash cart service? In 2020 we began

[21:51] charging for commercial recycling. Residential is still at no additional charge

[21:56] But for commercial, there is a charge, but it's set at 50% of the landfill cost.

[22:05] So if you have a 65-gallon trash that costs $20 and you get a 65-gallon recycling, that

[22:16] is going to be $10.

[22:17] It's going to be 50% of what the landfill cost would be.

[22:21] And then currently there is no separate charge for organics, which if you deal in the LA area this is because we were an early adopter of organics is a great deal.

[22:34] So the chart here is very similar. I will go through it a little bit quicker.

[22:40] You've got your 35 gallon trash cart service once a week. You're currently at 3241.

[22:46] you'd be going to $35.60, which is an increase of $3.19.

[22:52] $65.1 a week, you've got an increase of $6.22,

[22:57] $95.1 a week, $9.33.

[23:04] These are the commercial recycling amounts.

[23:08] As I mentioned, it is 50% of the cost of landfill.

[23:12] So your $35.1 a week, remember this is commercial.

[23:16] You're going to increase $1.59 a month, 65, you'd increase $3.12 a month, and 95, you'd increase $4.67 a month.

[23:30] Now we get on to our bin customers. These are landfill trash bins, they are green, so you're going to see a green body with a black lid.

[23:38] a

[23:43] two-yard trash bin service one-time a week is currently at $179.89. Your

[23:50] brand-new proposed customer rate all-in would be $197.52 which is an

[23:56] increase of $17.63 per month. For a three cubic yard trash bin service one

[24:04] time a week the increase would be $22.64 a month and four cubic yard once a

[24:12] a week, $27.12 a month.

[24:17] For the purposes of this presentation,

[24:19] I did not have a cute picture of the recycling bin.

[24:22] So in your mind, imagine that these bins

[24:24] have a white body with a black lid.

[24:27] Came, but these are the commercial recycling bins.

[24:30] And as we look at the prices here,

[24:32] two cubic yard, service one time a week, recycling.

[24:36] It would be going up $13.10.

[24:40] Three cubic yard, once a week,

[24:42] $16.82 for cubic yard once a week, it would be going up $20.16.

[24:51] So I know that was a lot of information. It was truly reflecting the breakdown in how

[24:59] the rates that are shown in your proposition to 18 notice are calculated.

[25:05] What to do next. If you want to submit a written protest, you would simply follow the instructions

[25:11] on the Prop. 218 notice that I reviewed also in tonight's presentation.

[25:16] If you don't want to submit a written protest, if you've read it and you determine that you're

[25:21] okay with an increase and you don't want to protest, no further action is needed from you.

[25:28] And just as a reminder, the public hearing will take place on May 20th at the City Council's

[25:34] regular meeting in the Chambers here at City Hall at 6 p.m.

[25:40] And at this point, I'm finished with my presentation, and I'm available for questions.

[25:46] We also have, as I mentioned earlier, Eric Lee, our Public Works Director, available

[25:51] for questions, and three representatives from Waste Management, our Franchise Haller,

[25:56] who are also available for questions.

[25:59] And for those inside the council chambers, you can come down to the Dias and provide

[26:05] your questions.

[26:05] or if there's anybody online, we do have someone from the City

[26:10] Corp's Office here to assist with that.

[26:13] Thank you very much.

[26:17] Do we have any raised hands online?

[26:21] Well, there's no raised hands, but there was a question

[26:23] during the presentation.

[26:24] Is there an option to get fits from another provider?

[26:29] So, I'm assuming we're referring to the franchise hauler.

[26:33] So if the proposition to a teen process

[26:39] receives a majority protest and the City Council cannot pass along the rate increase to the

[26:49] customer. That alone would not justify pursuing another holler or going through the RFP process.

[27:01] There are specific procedures laid out in the franchise agreement that would need to be followed

[27:07] before cutting ties with any existing hauler and going through the RFP

[27:14] process. I will state that we are currently in year five of our franchise

[27:20] agreement. The franchise agreement is a seven-year term plus three optional

[27:27] extension years. So the total potential time frame of this contract goes through

[27:34] 2030 and so the natural RFP process to start planning for 2030 would begin in

[27:45] 2027 and I believe Eric Lee has a comment as well.

[27:51] Yes I guess it is just to reiterate what Anna said we do have two more years that

[27:57] were contracted mandatory in the contract with three additional optional years so

[28:02] So if the community was not satisfied with the services provided by waste management,

[28:08] that the council certainly would not have to enact those optional years and we could go to a

[28:13] rebid process at that point.

[28:19] There's no additional questions at this time to zoom.

[28:22] Any questions from inside council chambers?

[28:27] Eric, would you like to share any additional comments at this time?

[28:31] No, you know, thank you everyone for participating.

[28:33] it was great to be able to get in front of the community and talk about

[28:38] important solid waste rates. Wonderful. Thank you so much and have a wonderful

[28:42] evening. We will be posting this on the city's website and if you have any

[28:47] additional questions you can email refuse at Manhattan Beach dot GOV. Thank

[28:53] you so much and have a good night.

MB COMMUNITY MEETING 040325

Agenda

Transcript