Feb. 8 Santee City Council Agenda Summary

Below is a summary of what is due to occur at this week's Council meeting. Santee Patch regularly reports on Council meetings, so check back on Wednesday night for the lowdown on the meeting.

The next meeting of the City Council begins Wed., Feb. 8, 2011:

Adjournment in Memory

Santee resident and Sheriff's Deputy Anthony (Tony) Bier recently passed away after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer.

The Santee City Council will present a certificate of adjournment to his family members at Wednesday's meeting.

Read more about Anthony in his obituary.

Proclamation

Heart for Hope Day (Feb. 12)- Heart for Hope is a group of volunteers from West Hills High School "whose mission is to demonstrate that high school teenagers can be involved with work that is rewarding and supports their community." The group will address the council and to speak about a fundraiser to benefit Kaiser Children's Hospital.

New Business

• The contract for waste management in Santee is up at the end of 2013 and the council is considering soliciting new proposals from companies in an attempt to make more revenue from the deal.

• The council will discuss the Transient Occupancy Tax (hotel tax) rate and Fire Benefit Fee in Santee as ways of increasing revenue for the city.

Currently Santee has the lowest TOT in the county, 6 percent, versus a high of 13 percent in Solana Beach. The city estimates revenue of $116,300 from TOT this fiscal year. An increase in TOT tax rate would require a majority vote by the public.

The city's Fire Benefit Fee is $41 annually per "dwelling unit" and commercial and industrial units. The city estimates $923,000 in revenue from the fee this fiscal year. In order to increase the FBF a two-thirds super majority of the public would have to vote in favor.

Each measure would cost about $26,000 to $30,000 to put on the ballot.

If you want to publicly comment on any topic, fill out a speaker slip at the beginning of the meeting.

For more detailed information see the full council agenda in the media box or download here.