Survey shows ratepayer opposition to Measure TT on merging sanitary and water districts
A plurality of Costa Mesa Sanitary District customers polled earlier this month said they do not plan to vote in favor of an advisory ballot measure asking if the agency should pursue a merger with the Mesa Water District, according to a survey the sanitary district commissioned.
Of the 500 voters questioned, 38% said they plan to vote against the item, Measure TT, in next month’s election while 30.6% said they plan to support it.
Another 31.4% of those surveyed either refused to answer the question or were unsure of whether they support the measure, according to a report from Probolsky Research, a Newport Beach public policy opinion research firm that conducted the survey on behalf of the sanitary district.
Measure TT is a nonbinding question Mesa Water placed on the Nov. 8 ballot to gauge public support for Mesa and the sanitary district combining.
In a statement Friday, sanitary district board President Mike Scheafer said the results “provide an accurate representation of our customers’ satisfaction with the job we are doing and the manner in which CMSD manages its public funds.”
Stacy Taylor, external affairs manager for Mesa Water, characterized the findings a little bit differently.
“Mesa Water is encouraged by the survey’s Measure TT question results showing that over 60% answered they would either vote yes or are unsure,” she wrote in an email Friday.
The survey question, she pointed out, also did not reference the potential financial benefits of consolidating the two agencies.
Mesa Water commissioned a study earlier this year that showed combing the two districts could lead to roughly $15.6 million in one-time savings and an additional $2.7 million annually.
Those savings could result in a $650 rebate for each customer and up to a 28% reduction in wastewater rates, according to the study from consultant Arcadis U.S. Inc.
Sanitary district officials have objected to those findings and claim the study is flawed and inaccurate. They’ve also characterized Measure TT as a political stunt and claimed Mesa Water is trying to stage a hostile takeover of their district.
Mesa Water officials, however, have said the public has a right to be heard on the matter, given the extent of possible savings a merger could bring. The results of November’s vote, they say, will clearly indicate whether ratepayers support the concept of consolidating the two districts.
Measure TT was one of a number of topics touched on in a community survey the sanitary district released Friday.
This is the second time — the first being in 2012 — that the sanitary district has done a citizen survey to gauge how satisfied its ratepayers are, according to sanitary district General Manager Scott Carroll.
More than 8 in 10 respondents this year said they generally approve of the job the sanitary district is doing, compared with less than 5% who said they disapprove.
Additionally, more than 92% of those polled said they are either somewhat or very satisfied with the sewer and trash services they receive.
Probolsky Research conducted the survey via landline and mobile phones in both English and Spanish between Oct. 7 and Oct. 20.
The results have a margin of error of +/-4.4% and a confidence level of 95%, according to the report.
The survey cost $34,000, according to Carroll.
Sanitary district board members will discuss the survey’s results at their study session meeting Tuesday, which starts at 9:30 a.m. at the district’s headquarters at 628 W. 19th St.
To view the full results, visit cmsdca.gov.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
