Moving Oxnard Forward

On March 8, Moving Oxnard Forward President Aaron Starr filed paperwork with the city of Oxnard to begin the process of placing an initiative on the November ballot which would overturn the recent wastewater utility increases.  The city attorney then had 15 days by law to prepare a title and summary for the initiative.

On the afternoon of the 15th day, instead of providing the required title and summary...

Thanks to the support of so many of you, we have decided to take steps to overturn the sewer rate increases that are scheduled to increase a typical family's utility bill by $326 per year.

WE NEED 20 MORE VOLUNTEERS TO FIGHT OXNARD'S MASSIVE UTILITY RATE INCREASES.

Please sign up at www.movingoxnardforward.org/volunteer.

The City Council voted two weeks ago to raise wastewater (sewer) rates by 88% ... and they are making plans for additional utility rate hikes for water and solid waste (garbage collection) sometime after March.

The story is not over yet, and it took an interesting plot twist Tuesday night at the 2^nd reading of the utility rate increases.

Here are links to the KEYT Channel 3 coverage of our protest effort and the utility rate increase hearing on January 19, 2016.

http://www.keyt.com/news/oxnard-residents-fight-utility-hike/37525502

http://www.keyt.com/news/oxnard-council-votes-for-utility-rate-increase/37525464

Though we are disappointed at the stubbornness of the Oxnard City Council in forging ahead Tuesday night with abusive utility rate increases, we are so very proud of the residents of Oxnard.

THANK YOU for showing up by the hundreds on a rainy night to send a message to our elected officials!  And thank you to those who patiently waited and then mustered the courage to speak during the hearing!  It was a night many of us will remember for a long time.

It is easy, but the first thing you need to know is that TIME IS SHORT!!  The protest forms must be RECEIVED by the city clerk before the end of the public hearing on TUESDAY, January 19, 2016 at 6:00 p.m. at Oxnard City Hall (305 W Third St).

Get your protest form on page 2 of this document.

At this late date, it might not arrive in time if you just drop it in the mail.  The best option is to bring it in person to the hearing on Tuesday night because the more people that are present the better!  If you can’t make it to the hearing, to be sure it arrives on time, deliver it in person to the city clerk’s office at 305 W Third St some time before the hearing.

We tracked down Ken Ortega, the former Oxnard Public Works Director, to get his opinion on the city's proposal to increase utility rates for water, sewer and garbage by 60%, or $750 per year for a typical household.

It's difficult to find someone on the outside with his expertise and knowledge of the inner workings of utilities in Oxnard.

It turns out he largely agrees with our position that these rate hikes cannot be justified. We asked him to write a letter stating his position.

Sometimes you have to dig deep to find the facts.  When we dug into a two-word phrase in the city’s cost-of-service study, we were surprised to learn what kind of digging Oxnard’s ratepayers might soon be paying for.

The City of Oxnard intends to charge some ratepayers less and expects you to pay the difference.