The San Francisco call., 1907-06-20
CITY ATTORNEY BURKE
ANSWERS SPRING VALLEY
Declares Water Company
Could Afford to Make
New Rates

Af1davits and comparative tables
covering 200 typewritten pages have
been prepared by City Attorney Burke
and his chief assistant, william T. Bag
gett, in answer to the application OF
the Spring Valley water company for
an injunction restraining the city from
putting into effect the ordinance fixing
water rates for the. fiscal year, which
is to begin July 1. Itis the Iconten-
ton Of the water company that the or
dinance would reduce its earnings to
such an extent that under the. changed
conditions due to the earthouake and
nre IT would not besable to payLeven its
nxed charges. such as operating ex-
penses. taxes and the interest on bond
ed indebtedness -
In the answer, which is to be filed
today in behalf of the city, stress is
laid on a comparison OF the ordinance
at issue and the ordinance of 1902, un-
der which the water company has been
collecting rates for five years. A sum-
mary OF what the city says on this
point has been compiled in the CITY. at
torney's office. It is as follows:
The analysis and comparison which has h..n
nhoe OF the TWO ordinances discloses some very
;s.sts.ing ;nstg facts While 1t is true that in some
calamity would decrease the reyeuuess~or ths th
water company. yet in other respects they are
largely increased In one item alone the reve-
about $500 per year to 5000. 900 per year which
would counteract many times over any losses
the ,t.ru =, tse Tnis item referred to is
10 cents Tor each barrel Of lime or cement ana
cents for each Thousand bricks used in build
Ing construction Under all the - ordinances
about the same provision was, made for cement
and lime and bricks but because of the difh
Guilty IN keeping informed OF such construction
as occasionally took place the water company
farmed out that business for $500 year 10
that was the total amount received each year
oy the water company, under that clause of the
1t appears from afndavits which the city Mt
,orney has prepared that there would be used in
building construction during the year 1907 and
1908 not less than 1000, 600 barrels Of cement
iooo 600 barrels Of lime and 200, ,ooO. 600 bricks
AT IL cents for each thousand %of bricks a sum
not less than $500. 900 y Is made available as i
portion OF the revenue to be collected by the
Spring Valley water company.
Under another item OF the ordinances, which
would increase the revenues Of the company ;,e-
cause of the changed conditions, 1t, would be I'M
meter rates and the collections would have to
be made under the Dat rates provided by the
ordinances; @ whch, are higher than meter rates
the revenue for such service.
While 1t would appear that the revenues pro-
vided by the last ordinance as to house rates
would be largely, decreased because Of the grsst
destruction OF houses by the IRE and earthouake
yet upon a careful ANALYSIS and comparison
with the ordinance Of 1902 there would be
scarcely any difference between the amounts
collectible under the two ordinances.
While the number of houses and residences Is
much less than before the fire, it is a
well known fact that more houses are occupied
by two families than before the IRE ana f,r
which the ordinance makes special provision.
The comparison between these sections of the
two ordinances shows. for instance that for "a
medium and common size private dwelling with
l. Il ~ al o1d> >oor,-
tanning one bathtub and valve closet with
two families occupying It, the water rate
charges against the dwelling by the rates OF
the ordinance for 1907-os would be 81 20 and 10
cents for the additional family--in all $21o.
The water charges under the ordinance of 1902
would be " cents for the dwelling "a cents
for the additional family II 1t had one. 50 cents
for the bathtub and % cents for the valve
closet, making $1.so in all. Thus 1t appears
that the ordinance of 1907-0S increases the reye-
nue. the ordinance of 1902 by 16 2-3 per
cent.