“Our government does not have the right to abuse the citizens in this way,” said Artur Babayan, a Glendale Community College student and organizer of the event.
City Manager Jim Starbird, who made a brief stop at City Hall to gauge the atmosphere of the protest from a nearby parking structure argued that many of the concerns were unfounded. Glendale Water & Power’s electricity rates, which ranked among the highest in a recent study of five comparable cities, have been reduced by 6% this year, Starbird said.
Although water rates have gone up 12.4%, Glendale’s combined fees for water, electricity, trash collection and sewage were the lowest in a comparison of five other Southern California cities prepared by officials.
That study showed that the total combined utility expenses for a Los Angeles single-family household were $222.70, while the Glendale fees totaled $173.86 for the same measure.
As far as electricity costs were concerned, Starbird did not deny they were high, but argued this year’s decrease is part of a five-year plan to lower rates.
“Electric rates are higher than we’d like them to be, depending on which category of customer you’re looking at and that’s why [Glendale Water & Power’s] strategy is to reduce rates to be within 35% lower than [Southern California Edison],” Starbird said.
Southern California Edison’s prices are among the highest in the Los Angeles area, he said.
Protesters frequently railed against the city and the impacts that its fees have on residents.
“The economy’s really bad right now that people can’t afford to pay high rates for electricity,” Glendale resident Lara Gueyikian said.
Gueyikian said her bimonthly bill had been about $90 last year, but rose to about $115 in February.
“I barely use stuff in my house for electricity and I don’t know why it’s so high,” she said.
