Editor's Note: Click here [1] to read UCAN's Announcement, "Flushed with Pride [2]."

UCAN can solicit funds to audit city, judge rules

San Diego Union Tribune [3] -

SAN DIEGO: A judge has ruled that the watchdog Utility Consumers' Action Network can raise money from San Diego water and sewer customers to audit the city's water and wastewater departments.

The decision was a victory for Michael Shames, the watchdog's executive director, and a loss for Mayor Jerry Sanders, who opposed letting UCAN conduct independent audits of the city's utility departments.

The audit issue went unresolved last year when Shames successfully sued the city for overcharging residential sewer users while giving businesses a break.

Friday's ruling allows UCAN to solicit contributions through regular inserts in customer bills, three times a year for five years, to hire experts to monitor city water and sewer spending and evaluate proposed rate increases.

UCAN was established 24 years ago with solicitations in electricity bills. It collected nearly $250,000 from more than 80,000 people that first year, says its Web site, ucan.org. -M.T.H.

Editor's Note: Click here [4] to read UCAN's Announcement, "Flushed with Pride [5]."