The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-02-17
WANTS TO RAISE ITS RATES
The City Water Company's
Petition to Council
NAMES THE EXACT FIGURES
Explains That the Company Is Now
Increasing Its Service
Wants Its Profits to Be Commensurate With
the Capital Invested and the
Profits Divided

The City Water Company wants to raise
its rates. Yesterday it sent a commune
cation to the Council asking for this.
Attached to the communication was the
draft of an ordinance which it wants the
Council to pass, and which fixes the rates
which it desires to ask. :.
Heretofore the Council has fixed the
rates. The Water Company does not be-
lieve that this is the proper thing for the
Council to do, but in the communication
agrees to allow the Council the great priv
ilege, provided the council will fix the
rates as it dictates them in the ordinance.
The communication presents fully the
grounds upon which the Water Company
bases it request, and in substance is as
follows:
While we have always claimed and still
claim that the city of Los Angeles has no
right to establish water rates lower than
the ones established at the time of enter
ing into the contract, yet, realizing that
the Council has for years fixed other
rates, presumably upon the statements
filed each year of the expenses and re-
ceipts of our company, we now desire, in
addition to the statement we have filed,
to file a statement calling your attention
to the expenditures we shall be obliged to
make during the coming year.
nomenal that we have been hardly able to
keep up with the requirements for water,
and we are compelled now to construct
new supply pipes from our works to the
city. IN order to do this properly, we are
constructing funnel just below our head
works and laying pipe line OF twenty-four
and thirtyinch pipe to the city limits
and down to Seventh street. The ex-
penditure will amount to more than
$25, 600. 1t will not materially increase
the number OF our consumers, but Will
give them better facilities.
You know that the supply in the hill
districts, when we took the plant, was
miserable. We have spent large sum OF
money for pipes and reservoirs. These
expenditures have not increased the con-
sumers but made supply merely.
Assuming that your rates have been
based upon our receipts and expenditures
it necessarily follows that having been
600 to better serve our patrons, we are en-
titled to receive interest upon this invest
ment
We simply wish a rate based upon the
cost OF our plant our receipts and expend-
lures, and we submit an ordinance max
ing an increase in the different rates.
Attention is called to the sprinkling
ordinance, which now compels man with
a small lawn to pay as much for sprink-
ling as man with large one.
The ordinance presented fixes the rates
on every tenement or dwelling house of
three rooms occupied by single family,
at rs cents. foor rooms 50 cents, five
rooms, $1.10, six rooms $l.35, eight rooms
$50, nine rooms $l.65, ten looms $3.50,
over ten rooms 10 cents for each addi
tional room.
Hotels pay 20 cents for each boarder,
and lodging houses 10 cents for each
lodger, in addition to the family rates.
Business blocks pay 10 cents for each
Office in addition to the $500 basic rate.
Restaurants pay $500 per month for
each twenty-five people fed. 97l irsl
Private bath tubs % cents, public tubs
$50; private urnals so cents, public 81;
private closets % cents, public so cents
and 81.
In sprinkling lawns it will cost cents
per square yard of lawn or garden, but
the total shall not be less than % cents in
any case.
One horse and vehicle, 25 cents; each
additional horse, 10 cents; COWS the same;
barber shops, so cents a chair; soda
fountains, 81; engines, so cents per horse
power; saloons, So, with 81 for each water
jar pump.
The matter will probably come before
the council on Monday.