By Fernando Alcantara/Garden Grove Journal
The Garden Grove City Council voted Tuesday night to officially allow the future automatic adjustments in water rates, for a period of five years, to fund ongoing operational water costs to the city.
The controversial ordinance was voted on and approved despite several dozen written and verbal protests by Garden Grove residents.
A majority of disapprovals was required at the Feb. 14 public hearing to overturn the rate-increase.
Of the 34,920 customers in Garden Grove, only 88 made formal complaints allowing the city to pass the ordinance.
Garden Grove residents can expect to see their rates increased starting July first.
Also Tuesday night, members of the Association of Local Missions and Ministries in Action [ALMMA] spoke to the city council regarding their homeless action plan that they urged Garden Grove to adopt.
Joan Riddle, a representative for ALMMA, said the group “has learned much about what is available, as well as what gaps remain in the system of care [for the homeless].”
According to ALMMA’s research, the county has a 10-year plan that barely addresses a solution to homelessness and points out that in the Garden Grove Unified School District, 1,034 students are reported to living in motels or cars.
ALMMA researched the causes of homelessness in Garden Grove for two years and made seven recommendations to alleviate the problem.
ALMMA recommends extending the hours of public restrooms in the city to reduce the need for public urination and defecation and for the city to support the development of a multi-service center that would provide emergency resources and housing.
