Rate Increases During Tough Economic Times – A Case Study of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation’s Use of Stakeholder Outreach To Pass a Sewer Rate Adjustment

摘要

This paper presents a case study of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation (BOS) and howrnit was able to pass a large rate increase during tough economic times. The key to the successfulrnrate adjustment involved a stakeholder outreach and political involvement process that lastedrnnearly 2 years. The stakeholder outreach process evolved from an initial plan for narrow focusrngroups to a broad campaign that included hundreds of meetings and workshops withrnenvironmental groups, neighborhood councils, business organizations, academic institutions, andrninfluential community leaders. At the same time, in a parallel effort, the justification for the raternadjustment was honed by individual meetings with each of the City Council members and theirrnstaff, who provided valuable input on everything from the duration and size of the raternadjustments, to the photos used in public presentations. In the end, the key to the successfulrnsewer rate increase for the City of Los Angeles was the ability to identify with their customersrnand communicate the need to remain a financially viable utility that provides a necessary publicrnservice for basic quality of life.