The Goleta City Council voted today to rescind the resolution, which authorized the City to pursue a detachment from the Goleta West Sanitary District (GWSD). The City will now contact the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) requesting that the application be withdrawn. The application was set to be considered by LAFCO on December 2nd.
“Several issues have surfaced that may impact the detachment. The issue of revenue neutrality still needs to be resolved with the County. Proposition 26, which passed in November, could impact the finances of the detachment, and the Board of Supervisors hasn’t received the information they requested from LAFCO staff on the effects of the detachment on Isla Vista,” said Dan Singer, City Manager. “The resolution of these matters may change the information on which the City Council and eventually LAFCO would make a decision on the detachment.
“We believe it is in the best interest of our community to have concrete answers to these questions,” said Mayor Eric Onnen. “When we initiated the process, we believed our revenue neutrality discussions would be completed by the time our application was ready for hearing. Although the process has taken longer than expected, we are committed to seeing it through.”
The City would welcome dialogue with GWSD during this interim period. Singer said, “The City and GWSD could reach agreement about the handling of sewer services in the western Goleta Valley. It’s good governance to eliminate duplication of services wherever possible. We are confident that in the end, the interests of the residents of Goleta will be served.”
The City of Goleta applied for a detachment of the City from GWSD in February 2009.