NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING

ON PROPOSED 2027 INCREASES IN REFUSE COLLECTION RATES

 

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Council of the City of Portola will hold a public hearing on proposed increases to the residential and commercial refuse collection rates of the City of Portola, which are billed by Intermountain Disposal (IMD) in accordance with its franchise agreement with the City.  The public hearing will be held on December 9, 2026 at the hour of 6:00 p.m., or as soon thereafter as possible, in the City Council Chamber, Portola City Hall, 35 Third Avenue, Portola, California.

The purpose of the public hearing is to consider all oral and written testimony and written protests of the proposed rates. At the public hearing, any interested person may appear and be heard and/or submit written materials and protests of the proposed rates. Written comments and protests submitted to the City Manager at the address listed below prior to December 9, 2026 and those received prior to the close of the public hearing on December 9, 2026 will be presented to the City Council at the public hearing.

A copy of the proposed rates for refuse collection fees and commercial recycling rates charged by Intermountain Disposal are attached to this Notice.  Additional cost data is available for inspection at the City Manager’s Office, 35 Third Avenue, Portola, California.  For further information on waste collection fees, contact (530) 832-6803.

PROPOSED 2027 REFUSE COLLECTION RATES CALCULATION AND APPROVAL PROCESS

Proposed 2027 rates for refuse collection in the City of Portola are attached to this Notice.  Proposed rates are calculated using procedures described in Section 5.3 of the Franchise Agreement between Intermountain Disposal and the City of Portola. 

The proposed refuse collection rates are calculated on changes in the cost of doing business, based on data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Energy Information Administration for consumer indices and fuel price changes over a one-year period (August 2025 to August 2026).  Specifically, the two federal agency statistics used to calculate the annual increase are:

•  Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index for All West Urban Consumers, Non-Seasonally Adjusted; and
•   Energy Information Administration California No. 2 Diesel Retail Prices.

 

City staff calculated the inflation and diesel fuel increases using August 2025 and August 2026 federal data and the calculation procedure stated in section 5.3 of the franchise agreement.  The combined CPI/Diesel Fuel rate increase is 6.96%.

Some, but not all, of the refuse collection rates are also proposed to be adjusted due to a disposal fee increase (5.27%) effective July 1, 2026 at the Delleker Transfer Station, as approved by the Plumas County Board of Supervisors.  Following review of IMD’s financial records of revenues and expenses, City staff calculated a 1.26% increase for rates to collect and dispose of solid waste.  Note that an increase in refuse disposal fees at the Delleker Transfer Station are a pass-through expense and eligible for a rate adjustment upon request by IMD under its franchise agreement.

On October 14, 2026, the Portola City Council approved the calculations of the proposed 2027 refuse collection rates, authorized the distribution of this Notice to establish a 45-day written public comment and protest period, and set a public hearing for December 9, 2026 at the City Council chamber

 

PROPOSITION 218 – WRITTEN PROTEST

Owners of parcels, tenants and the public may comment on and protest the proposed rates in writing prior to, or orally during the public hearing.  Consistent with the provisions of Proposition 218 (as implemented by Assembly Bill 1260) this Notice has been mailed to all property owners (and/or tenants) within the City who receive refuse collection services from IMD.  If you are a property owner (and/or tenant) and wish to protest the proposed rates as described in this Notice, then you must file a written protest with the City before the public hearing on December 9, 2026 is closed. If the party signing the protest is not shown on the last equalized assessment roll of Plumas County as the owner(s) of the parcel(s), the protest must contain, or be accompanied by, written evidence that such party is the owner, or tenant, of the parcel(s).  If protests from a majority of the affected parcels are timely submitted, the proposed rate increases will not go into effect.  Only one protest per parcel will be counted (the first one received by the City).  Owners of multiple properties may submit one protest for each property owned.

LEGAL CHALLENGE

Any judicial action or proceeding to attack, review, set aside, void, validate, or annul an ordinance, resolution, or motion adopting a fee or charge for residential and commercial refuse collection service, shall be commenced within 120 days of the effective date or of the date of the final passage, adoption, or approval of the ordinance, resolution, or motion, whichever is later.

Protests can be mailed or personally delivered to the City of Portola as follows:

Ryan Bonk, City Manager

City of Portola

P.O. Box 1225

35 Third Avenue

Portola, California 96122

Dated & Published by: October 15, 2026

For accessible meeting information, please call (530) 832-6801

 

IMD Rate Year 10 Prop 218 Notice v 1.0.pdf2027 Proposed Rates and Backup Materials