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Welcome to Civic Circus, This is Ankur Patel breaking down local politics, going to three hour meetings so you don’t have to. Each week on uprising I’ll bring you a report on City, County, and State Bureaucracy.

President Obama has been talking about maintaining bridges and building roads on a regular basis, but the reality of crumbling infrastructure is felt at the local level. Los Angeles is no different. At the city level, instead of long term budgeting and proper maintenance planning, it’s about kicking the can down the road until we have no option but to increase fees.

We are facing that situation now with an estimated 2,100 miles or 30%, of Los Angeles’ 6,400-mile sewer system being over 80 years old and in need of replacement now.

The Bureau of Sanitation already collects over $700 million dollars per year from the Sewer Service Charge portion of your LADWP utility bill. But, according to officials, that isn’t going to be enough for the massive infrastructure project that we can no longer put off.

The Sewer Service Charge is the fee we pay the LADWP to maintain the City’s wastewater facilities. The fee is based on how much water you use, but that is probably inflated because we use so much water to maintain our lawns – water which doesn’t end up in the sewer.

On October 19th, The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-0 to increase the Sewer Service Charge 4.5 percent in each of the next three years and 6.5 percent annually for six years after that, totaling a 70% fee increase over ten years. The increase is expected to generate nearly $2 billion.

The average residential bill of $30 a month will increase to about $53 by 2020-21, officials said. Single family residences will be facing a much steeper increase because of their landscaping.

The City’s Bureau of Sanitation is under the Department of Public Works which is responsible for everything from sidewalks and trash collection to bridges and trees. Enrique Zaldivar, director of the Bureau, said his department met with more than 70 neighborhood councils and other groups to explain the proposal over the past several months.

Unfortunately their presentations didn’t get into where the Bureau’s money has been going, whether it is to union bosses, special interests, developers, or expensive sub-contractors instead of maintaining our sewers. In typical LA fashion, there is a lack of detailed historical and projected financial information such as income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.

Speaking of sewers, the mainstream media doesn’t get into this kind of information. Here on Uprising I started out as an intern and have had the opportunity to speak out on these under-reported and poorly understood issues that even the politicians don’t want us to know about. I am glad to be sharing with you this weekly commentary, because an engaged and informed citizenry is what the 1% is most afraid of. KPFK needs your support during this fall fund drive, and if you appreciate this sort of information, please do call in and show your support.

These clowns at City Hall are increasing fees and reducing service. Here at KPFK we are the voice of the people. Please pledge your support at 818-985-5735.