Brief

Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, seconded by Monica Rodriguez, introduced a motion to expand the Office of Public Accountability and establish a ratepayer advocate role, with potential ballot language for a sewer service charge in November 2026. The motion remains pending in the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, which continued the item on June 15, 2026 without setting a specific return date.

Full summary

Councilmember Adrin Nazarian introduced this motion on May 22, 2026 to extend the mandate of the Office of Public Accountability, the city's independent ratepayer advocate, to cover Bureau of Sanitation (LASAN) utility charges — specifically the Sewer Service Charge and the Solid Resources Fee. Currently, the OPA's Charter-based authority under Section 683 covers only DWP water and electricity rates, leaving sewer and solid waste charges — which appear on the same bimonthly DWP bill — without any independent watchdog scrutiny. The motion points to recent Council-approved sewer rate increases starting at 22% and continuing through phased hikes projected to roughly double the typical bimonthly Sewer Service Charge by July 2028, arguing that residents and small businesses deserve independent analysis of those increases just as they do for DWP rates. The motion asks the City Attorney, with help from the Chief Legislative Analyst, to draft a City Charter amendment for the November 2026 ballot. The proposed amendment would do three things: expand the OPA's role to include independent analysis of LASAN rate actions; authorize the OPA's Executive Director to report to the Board of Public Works on LASAN matters in the same way the Director currently reports to the Board of Water and Power Commissioners on DWP matters; and split the OPA's funding between DWP and LASAN proportionally, so DWP ratepayers do not shoulder costs that primarily benefit LASAN ratepayers. Since introduction, the motion has been referred to and considered multiple times by the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, the appropriate venue for ballot measure preparation. The committee scheduled hearings in late May and twice in mid-June, but each session ended in a continuance. As of June 15, 2026, the item was continued to a date to be determined, with no scheduled return. The file remains open through June 2028, but the November 2026 ballot deadline creates real time pressure for the City Attorney to complete the required charter amendment documents.

Activity (7)

• 2026-06-15 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee continued item to date to be determined.
• 2026-06-12 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 15, 2026.
• 2026-06-12 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee continued item to June 15, 2026 .
• 2026-06-11 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on June 12, 2026.
• 2026-05-28 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee continued item to date to be determined.
• 2026-05-27 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on May 28, 2026.
• 2026-05-22 Motion referred to Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Documents (4)

• 2026-06-15 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-06-12 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-05-28 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-05-22 Motion · motion