Opinion Piece By David Markel – January 3, 2016 –

We live in the Bertsch Track.  In the 70’s, sewer and water lines were installed thought out this District and then the Bertsch Ocean View Community Services District was born. This District was formed by the Board of Supervisors of the Del Norte County on May 25, 1970. (Resolution NO.70-65 3012). In this District people were getting sick because the water was bad, so water and sewer lines needed to be installed for heath reasons. If you live in this District you are paying for this though your water bill and you will pay for around 17 more years for the piping.

On Pacific Avenue down to the High School, sewer and water lines were installed and people that owned property were told to hook up to sewer and cover old septic tanks up. This was done by Del Norte County. In other places, water and sewer lines were installed thoughout the county by the County of Del Norte, County Supervisors. If you own land or a home in Del Norte County, that there is water and sewer lines that are in the street you are paying taxes on the piping.

CSA1 AD1 Sewer Assessment (Bertsch)

CSA1 AD3 Sewer Assessment

CSA AD1 Sewer User Fee

You don’t have to be using the sewer system to have this on your property taxes. You just have to live in the District with water and sewer lines installed. You, as Land owner, will at some point in time have to hook up to this sewer system. By a Law that the County will come up with, sometime in the coming days or one that is already in the county books now or in a law your County Supervisor will have to vote in to become a law.

You would ask yourself why or why are you writing this and right know I don’t care about all these problems.

This is all about the Sewer Rate Notice that Crescent city is proposing to increase. If you look at the Notice that you got in the mail you would see, what do sewer rates fund and why are rate increases needed?

I will give you something to think about the sewer plant that is run by the City of Crescent City, voted on by the City Council and all City Government Administration. You may say the Crescent City administration is being payed though the sewer and water that the county is paying on their bills and now the City won’t to raise your bill. Here are some of the key words in the Crescent City notice of public hearing paper that was sent to user.

1-Administration (City Government because Wastewater Treatment Plant is owned by Crescent City)

2-Repairs and replacements. (Crescent City equipment that Crescent City will use other places.)

3-Insurance (on all Crescent City Employees)

I am sure there are other things I could say about this but right now; this is all that I could think of right now. If you think that this has nothing to do with you because you don’t have a bill you’re wrong. There is a good possibility you may buy a home or rent a place that has water and sewer bill so think about this –  it could happen to you.

You could go to your County Board of Supervisor and ask the Board to help you stop this rate increase from happening and in so many words they would tell you they don’t want to open that can worms. (NO HELP FROM US THANK YOU BY THE WAY.) We need a sewer plant but I don’t need to fund Crescent City Government. I live in the County and help fund County Government.

I think we should stop this rate increase. It about time for the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors to put a stop to this rate increase. The County Board of Supervisors needs to start helping the people that elect them into office.

Maybe the County needs to take over the sewer plant because the City doesn’t know what they’re doing.