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City approves Athens Services’ negotiated three-year, 1% annual rate increases
Summary
After nearly a year of negotiations and an ad hoc committee review, Santa Paula City Council approved Athens Services’ request for three consecutive 1% increases to maximum residential and commercial collection rates, citing citrus-quarantine route costs and regional disposal fee spikes. Athens agreed to reimburse up to $30,000 for the Proposition 218 hearing costs.
Santa Paula’s City Council voted to approve a negotiated amendment to its franchise agreement with Athens Services that will allow three consecutive 1% increases to the utility’s maximum service rates, effective Oct. 1, 2026.
City staff presented the item as the result of an 18-month process that began after Athens notified the city of sharp disposal-fee increases and a citrus quarantine that temporarily forced the company to route organics to more distant facilities. Bruce Beluski of Public Works summarized the company’s multiple requests and the ad hoc committee’s work; staff recommended accepting Athens’ latest offer as a balanced outcome.
Monica Castillo, the city attorney, told the council that the contract’s extraordinary-adjustment clause requires evidence that an event was ‘‘not foreseeable or within Athens’ control’’ and ‘‘not a usual business risk,’’ and that the council must exercise its discretion in a non-arbitrary manner.
Rhonda Guthrie, Athens’ vice president for government affairs, described the operational disruption after Del Norte Regional Recycling and Transfer Station stopped accepting Santa Paula green waste following the quarantine. She said Athens rerouted material for 18 months and that the company mitigated cost impacts where possible; the trimmed proposal now being approved will add about $0.41 monthly for a 96-gallon residential cart in year one, rising to about $0.47 in year three, Athens said.
Council members repeatedly praised the extended negotiations and the ad hoc committee’s work. Several members noted the small monthly impact on individual bills and the importance of protecting both the contractor’s viability and ratepayers’ interests.
The council authorized the city manager to execute the amendment, approved language clarifying how franchise fees and related adjustments will be handled in the future, and accepted Athens’ offer to reimburse up to $30,000 for costs associated with the Proposition 218 protest process if required.
The council’s approval is subject to the standard Proposition 218 mailed-notice and protest-hearing process; if a majority protest results at that hearing, the increase would not take effect.
