Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
City, school board don’t agree on utilities
Krikorian calls for greater cooperation, communication between the two Glendale bodies.
By Angela Hokanson
GLENDALE — Some school board members would like to see the city give the district a break on rising utility rates, but city officials argue that it’s not the city’s role to provide this kind of aid.
Glendale Unified School District board President Greg Krikorian spoke during the public comment period of Tuesday’s City Council meeting about the working relationship between the city and the school district. He called for greater cooperation and communication between the two entities, and said the issue of utility costs was an area in which the two groups should work together.
By the end of this school year, the school district’s total energy bill is poised to have risen by $2 million since 2005, Krikorian said, judging by usage in the the first half of the school year.
“We’re spending close to $2 million more in fees that could be levied on reducing class size,” he told the council.
Krikorian said the city could help the school district endure potential state budget cuts by either rolling back utility rates to what they were a few years ago, or giving the school district some sort of utility credit.
But Councilman Dave Weaver said the school district’s quarrel was with the governor and his proposed budget, not with the city. Giving the school district a discount on utility rates would be damaging to the city’s programs and services, Weaver said, and would prompt other groups to approach the city for similar treatment.
“Getting a rollback hurts the city of Glendale and what we’re trying to do,” he said.
Krikorian, however, thinks the city should consider giving the school district a 20% discount on its utilities, a discount he says the Burbank Unified School District gets from its city utility.
But Tim Carroll, the resource conservation manager for the Burbank Unified School District, said he wasn’t aware of any such discount.
“I see the bills and it’s not discounted,” he said.
Giving the school district a discount on its utilities makes sense, Krikorian argues, because city recreational programs use school district facilities — and power — after school and in the evenings, and because Glendale’s strong school system draws people to the city. Money the school district saves on utilities could help it avoid cutting programs that might be in jeopardy if the state continues to make cuts to education, he said.
While the school board hasn’t taken a formal position on asking the city for a break on utility costs, some other school board members — including Mary Boger and Chuck Sambar — share Krikorian’s views on the topic.
“I would certainly support such a supposition,” said Boger, referring to a potential utility rate cut or freeze.
The school district employs many Glendale residents and helps sustain property values through the quality of the schools, Boger said.
“We should be one of the city’s greatest partners,” Boger said.
Board member Nayiri Nahabedian said she would be open to exploring options with the city, but that the issue needed to be looked at in a collaborative, constructive way.
“I think we don’t really have concrete information about what the possibilities are,” Nahabedian said.
The suggestion that the school district receive a discounted energy rate could be done, said City Manager Jim Starbird, if other utility users in the city were willing to pay a higher rate in exchange.
“Everybody else’s rates would need to go up,” he said.
Or, the city could cover the utility discount for the school district with money from its general fund, but that scenario fails to take into account the city’s need to pay for its programs and services, Starbird said.
“To say the city should fund this or that . . . reflects a lack of understanding of the breadth of challenges the city faces,” he said.
The city and the school district utilize different revenue sources, and just because the school district is facing a few years that are expected to be fiscally tight, doesn’t mean that the city is necessarily in the position to step in and help, Starbird said.
Rolling back or freezing utility rates for the school district isn’t feasible, Mayor Ara Najarian said.
He pointed out that the school district has taken advantage of Glendale Water & Power’s public benefit programs, which offer financial incentives for customers that increase their energy efficiency.
The school district has received about $1.5 million through the utility’s public benefit programs during the past few years, said Ned Bassin, power management administrator for Glendale Water & Power.
Najarian also disputes the $2 million figure Krikorian cited at the meeting. He said city staff members are looking to verify what the school district has been spending on utilities.
“When Greg makes these comments continually, we always scratch our heads and wonder what are the facts he’s looking at,” Najarian said.
In the 2005-06 school year, the school district spent about $3.6 millionin utility costs from the services of both Glendale Water & Power and Southern California Edison, said Scott Price, the school district’s administrator of business services.
The school district gets the majority of its power from Glendale Water & Power, with Southern California Edison providing power for only six schools. In the first half of this school year, the school district spent about $2.4 million on utilities from both providers, Price said.
The school district would have spent another $1.3 million since June of 2006 if it hadn’t implemented an energy conservation program, he said.
Glendale Water & Power utility rates went up in July of 2006 and July of 2007. In 2007, the increase was about 7% for the average customer, said Bassin. Utility rates are increased when the cost of providing power to customers increases.
Those cost increases come from things like purchasing new equipment, and changes in the cost of resources like natural gas, Bassin said.
Glendale Unified School District board President Greg Krikorian spoke during the public comment period of Tuesday’s City Council meeting about the working relationship between the city and the school district. He called for greater cooperation and communication between the two entities, and said the issue of utility costs was an area in which the two groups should work together.
By the end of this school year, the school district’s total energy bill is poised to have risen by $2 million since 2005, Krikorian said, judging by usage in the the first half of the school year.
“We’re spending close to $2 million more in fees that could be levied on reducing class size,” he told the council.
Krikorian said the city could help the school district endure potential state budget cuts by either rolling back utility rates to what they were a few years ago, or giving the school district some sort of utility credit.
But Councilman Dave Weaver said the school district’s quarrel was with the governor and his proposed budget, not with the city. Giving the school district a discount on utility rates would be damaging to the city’s programs and services, Weaver said, and would prompt other groups to approach the city for similar treatment.
“Getting a rollback hurts the city of Glendale and what we’re trying to do,” he said.
Krikorian, however, thinks the city should consider giving the school district a 20% discount on its utilities, a discount he says the Burbank Unified School District gets from its city utility.
But Tim Carroll, the resource conservation manager for the Burbank Unified School District, said he wasn’t aware of any such discount.
“I see the bills and it’s not discounted,” he said.
Giving the school district a discount on its utilities makes sense, Krikorian argues, because city recreational programs use school district facilities — and power — after school and in the evenings, and because Glendale’s strong school system draws people to the city. Money the school district saves on utilities could help it avoid cutting programs that might be in jeopardy if the state continues to make cuts to education, he said.
While the school board hasn’t taken a formal position on asking the city for a break on utility costs, some other school board members — including Mary Boger and Chuck Sambar — share Krikorian’s views on the topic.
“I would certainly support such a supposition,” said Boger, referring to a potential utility rate cut or freeze.
The school district employs many Glendale residents and helps sustain property values through the quality of the schools, Boger said.
“We should be one of the city’s greatest partners,” Boger said.
Board member Nayiri Nahabedian said she would be open to exploring options with the city, but that the issue needed to be looked at in a collaborative, constructive way.
“I think we don’t really have concrete information about what the possibilities are,” Nahabedian said.
The suggestion that the school district receive a discounted energy rate could be done, said City Manager Jim Starbird, if other utility users in the city were willing to pay a higher rate in exchange.
“Everybody else’s rates would need to go up,” he said.
Or, the city could cover the utility discount for the school district with money from its general fund, but that scenario fails to take into account the city’s need to pay for its programs and services, Starbird said.
“To say the city should fund this or that . . . reflects a lack of understanding of the breadth of challenges the city faces,” he said.
The city and the school district utilize different revenue sources, and just because the school district is facing a few years that are expected to be fiscally tight, doesn’t mean that the city is necessarily in the position to step in and help, Starbird said.
Rolling back or freezing utility rates for the school district isn’t feasible, Mayor Ara Najarian said.
He pointed out that the school district has taken advantage of Glendale Water & Power’s public benefit programs, which offer financial incentives for customers that increase their energy efficiency.
The school district has received about $1.5 million through the utility’s public benefit programs during the past few years, said Ned Bassin, power management administrator for Glendale Water & Power.
Najarian also disputes the $2 million figure Krikorian cited at the meeting. He said city staff members are looking to verify what the school district has been spending on utilities.
“When Greg makes these comments continually, we always scratch our heads and wonder what are the facts he’s looking at,” Najarian said.
In the 2005-06 school year, the school district spent about $3.6 millionin utility costs from the services of both Glendale Water & Power and Southern California Edison, said Scott Price, the school district’s administrator of business services.
The school district gets the majority of its power from Glendale Water & Power, with Southern California Edison providing power for only six schools. In the first half of this school year, the school district spent about $2.4 million on utilities from both providers, Price said.
The school district would have spent another $1.3 million since June of 2006 if it hadn’t implemented an energy conservation program, he said.
Glendale Water & Power utility rates went up in July of 2006 and July of 2007. In 2007, the increase was about 7% for the average customer, said Bassin. Utility rates are increased when the cost of providing power to customers increases.
Those cost increases come from things like purchasing new equipment, and changes in the cost of resources like natural gas, Bassin said.
Save/Share
 |
 |
|
| GCC expects a healthy rise in revenues | Student on short list of art contest |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of glendalenewspress.com.
Submit a Comment
We encourage your feedback and dialog, all comments will be reviewed by our Web staff before appearing on the Web site.
Not registered yet?
RSS