Petaluma sewer rollback ballot language now in judge's hands

<p>A Sonoma County Superior Court judge is expected to rule Tuesday on Petaluma's legal challenge to the wording of a sewer-rate rollback measure on November's ballot, which the city claims is deceptive and inaccurate.</p><p>Bryant Moynihan, a former city councilman and now city watchdog, submitted ballot language to the county registrar urging voters to support Measure U, arguing that Petaluma has mismanaged and misspent millions of dollars from its wastewater fund.</p><p>Measure U would roll back Petaluma's sewer rates to 2006 levels, reducing most customers' bills by about 45 percent.</p><p>But city leaders say the measure also could bankrupt the city, forcing it to default on millions of dollars in loans already in place to build the Ellis Creek wastewater treatment plant.</p><p>Judge Elliot Daum heard arguments Monday afternoon in the city's request to amend or delete the submitted ballot language.</p><p>He said he would release a written ruling as soon as possible Tuesday because the Registrar of Voters needs to submit thousands of ballots to the printer by the end of the work day.</p><p>City attorneys contend that three main points in Moynihan's argument are inaccurate:</p><p>-- That Petaluma has raised sewer rates an average of 20 percent a year over a five-year period.</p><p>-- That the city allowed the cost of the plant to balloon from $34 million to $160 million.</p><p>-- That the city is planning to borrow another $50 million for additional “unnecessary projects.”</p><p>The city contends that Moynihan's numbers are skewed in all three instances.</p><p>City Attorney Eric Danly said that wastewater rates increased an average of 14.3 percent, that the cost comparisons for the project are misleading and that the city is planning on borrowing about $27 million.</p><p>Danly said the $34 million figure Moynihan cites is for a lesser project that was never considered by Petaluma because it wouldn't have met the city's current or future wastewater treatment needs.</p><p>“There is no such animal to compare,” he said.</p><p>Possibly foreshadowing his ruling, Daum asked Moynihan several questions about potential “consequences” for Petaluma residents if the measure passes and the city is forced to reduce services or potentially declare bankruptcy.</p><p>“Don't we want to be clear?” he asked. “Or is it fair in your view that many millions of dollars are being wasted, and therefore we should pull back on wastewater rates?”</p><p>Moynihan said he didn't feel it necessary to “justify every word” in a space-limited ballot argument.</p><p>“I do believe the city can survive this measure passing,” he said. “But they will have to focus on their spending.”</p><p>The average Petaluma sewer bill is about $63 a month, about in the middle of Sonoma County's nine cities. By 2011, the rates are expected to be about $80 a month. A rollback to 2006 levels would cut bills to about $43.</p>