Spotlight
on Weights &
Measures
Newsletter
January - March 2009
Cathy V. Neville
Agricultural Commissioner/Sealer
Mark Hanson
Chief Deputy Sealer
Editor Fernando Vasquez
New Sealer of Weights & Measures
We kick off the year 2009 by welcoming our newly
appointed Sealer of Weights and Measures. The
Sonoma County Board of Supervisors appointed
Cathy Neville as the Agricultural Commissioner/
Sealer effective December 31, 2008. As the County’s
Agriculture Commissioner/Sealer she will direct the
operations of the County Agricultural Commissioner’s
Office, the Weights and Measures Division and the
Animal Care and Control programs.
Cathy Neville comes to us from the County of San
Diego where she served as a Chief Deputy with the
Agricultural Commissioner’s Office. She has lived
in San Diego for over 25 years and looks forward to
serving as the new Sealer of the Weights and Measures
and to continue the commitment of excellent service
to the residents of Sonoma County.
Consumer Complaints
In January 2009, we
received ten consumer
complaints. Four were
related to utility submetering issues, but
we were only able to
substantiate one of them.
A concerned consumer
asked for assistance in getting the C.A.R.E. discount on
her utility bills. C.A.R.E. stands for California Alternate
Rates for Energy, and people receiving utilities being
supplied by PG&E or any other CPUC (California
Public Utilities Commission) regulated utility can apply
for assistance through this program. The program offers a
20% discount from utility cost if the applicant applies and
qualifies under the program’s income guidelines. Mobile
home parks in Sonoma County receive their natural
gas and electricity through PG&E services, and any
qualifying resident can apply to PG&E for the discount.
Our Standards Specialist directed the complainant to the
proper office at PG&E to begin the application process.
Two of the 10 complaints alleged short measure from fuel
pumps, which we were unable to confirm. Three of the
remaining complaints related to price discrepancies that
we were not able to duplicate. The remaining complaint
involved fuel price discrepancies between the street sign
and the fuel dispenser price. The station involved had
a price change and they were not careful in observing
the order in which they changed their prices. If there
is a price increase the station needs to increase the street
sign prices prior to increasing the dispenser prices. If it is
done in the reverse order, fueling customers will quickly
notice that the dispenser they are using is computing at a
higher price than the street price. Technically this is an
overcharge and it is illegal.
Consumer Tip
Recycling has become a big business
and if you purchase food items
in CRV (California Redemption
Value) containers, you are being
charged a fee to encourage you to
recycle those items. Containers that
are charged a CRV fee are generally
soft drinks, juices, and adult
beverages in plastic, aluminum, and
glass containers. Depending on the
size of the container, you are being
charged 5¢ or 10¢ per container. A
12-pack of Pepsi will cost you 60¢
in CRV fees.
If you have traditionally recycled these items, using
the blue Recycle Cans supplied by the waste pick-up
companies, “kudos” to you. If you would like to keep
some of that money for yourself, you can separate those
items out and take them down to your local recycler and
sell them back for their CRV fees.
Spotlight on Weights & Measures January - March 2009
Two large companies Tomra
Pacific, operating as Replanet, and
NexCycle, manage recycling satellites
in most towns and cities.
Local
metal recyclers also will purchase
back aluminum from the general
public and sometimes at higher prices
then the local Tomra or NexCycle
locations.
Before you agree to sell your items,
make sure you know how much
material you have. You can sell it
back by either weight or by count
depending on the quantity. Make
sure you know ahead of time what you should be
paid per pound or per item for the quantities you are
selling. For more information regarding recycling, visit
the Department of Conservation at the following web
address:
http://www.conservation.ca.gov/dor/Pages/Index.aspx
Fuel Advertisement Requirements
You undoubtedly noticed that fuel prices recently climbed
up again. As a result of these higher prices several service
stations started offering different prices for cash or credit
purchases. Service stations that accept credit cards
typically enter in to contracts with credit card companies
and are charged a fee that is in part based on a percentage
of their gross sales. In an attempt to keep their own
costs down, smaller independent service stations attempt
to entice consumers to use cash or noncredit card
instruments (Debit Cards) for their fuel purchases.
Enforcement of fuel advertising requirements falls under
the jurisdiction of Weights and Measures, and our
inspectors are kept busy staying ahead of any potential
misleading advertisement signs that cost Sonoma County
residents money and aggravation.
By law a service
station must post the prices for the three major grades
they offer for sale and if they offer “dual pricing” (cash
or credit), they are obligated to post, at minimum, the
“highest prices” on their primary street sign. According
to the California Business and Professions Code: “…
posted prices shall be clearly visible from the street or
highway adjacent to the premises of the service station”.
Service stations are not permitted to charge you more if
you purchase fuel with credit but they traditionally have
gotten around this by doing the opposite, offering you a
“discount” for purchasing fuel with cash.
Once the minimum fuel price advertising requirements
are met, the business can then include additional price
sign for additional fuel prices or discounts. The additional
price sings must be clearly marked and clearly explain the
condition of the discount to the consumer. The following
picture indicates a discount of 9¢ per gallon with the use
of the service station’s card. This sign is incomplete and
illegal because it is ambiguous. It does not specifically
inform the consumer how the discount will be applied.
Will the discount be applied to a gallon of gasoline or a
gallon of milk? Will the consumer receive a 9¢ discount
if they only purchase 9¢ of gas or is the discount really
incremental through the gallon range? Is the discount
given immediately or will the consumer receive a credit on
their monthly bill? These are all legitimate questions that
a typical consumer should be able to easily discern from a
price advertisement sign before they purchase the fuel.
Did You Know?
Every day - a state, county, or city weights and measures
official protects you in every purchase decision you make.
An inaccuracy of slightly more than 1 tablespoon per 5
gallons at gas pumps equals an annual error worth $125
million nationally. If every pound of meat were weighed
incorrectly by just one one-hundredth of a pound, it
would total an annual error of 500 million pounds
nationally. Whether ensuring accuracy at gas stations,
with meat packaging, in weighing wine grapes, measuring
cubic yards of cement, distance in a taxicab, or watthours
of electricity - the level of protection provided by weights
and measures costs the average citizen less than $1 per
year.
January - March 2009
Spotlight on Weights & Measures
Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)
LPG, or propane, is a flexible and affordable fuel source.
It is easy to transport, can be stored for extended periods
of time and has relatively high energy content when it
is compared to other fuels. You can cook with it, heat
your home with it or operate a forklift with it. Sonoma
County has quite a few residents who live in rural areas
and depend on propane for their heating and cooking
needs. These residents are not connected to a traditional
natural gas pipeline and usually purchase their propane
through one of the local propane distributors. Sonoma
County currently has twelve propane suppliers that
provide services to individual homeowners and business
throughout this county and surrounding counties.
Traditionally, home propane setups are operated in one
of two different ways. A large storage propane tank,
sometimes referred to as a “stationary service cylinder”,
is either owned by the homeowner or is rented to them
by the company that supplies the propane. Filling a
residential tank takes anywhere from 200 to 300 gallons
of propane, and depending on the prices, this could cost
the homeowner $600 to $1,000. Depending on the rate
of consumption, 250 gallons of propane may last from six
to twelve months.
To offset the shock of having to pay a high bill all at
once, some propane companies have offered sub-metered
services where the homeowner rents the storage tank but
is billed through a vapor sub-meter. A sub-meter is a
commercially approved meter that measures the propane
vapor as it is being consumed. The meter records usage over
time. These sub-meters appear just like the ones PG&E
uses with their natural gas customers but propane vapor
meters differ in that they must compensate the measured
propane to 60° Fahrenheit, the standard temperature
for petroleum products. PG&E handles temperature
compensation by applying a “Therm” correction factor.
A monthly bill is easier for a homeowner to cope with
but they generally are charged a higher unit price for the
convenience.
Both bulk liquid and vapor
measuring methods require that
a “commercially approved” meter
be used and that the local Sealer
of Weights and Measures certify
the meter. If a customer receives
a bulk purchase they are required
to be given a receipt from the
propane company specifying the
amount sold and the price of the
product. If they are on a submetered account, the propane
company needs to provide a
monthly bill that complies with
California Code of Regulations
Chapter 5, Section 4090. Sonoma
County Weights and Measures
is responsible for inspecting the
delivery truck’s meters as well
as the meters used in the submetered applications.
(Continued...)
Spotlight on Weights & Measures January - March 2009
Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG)
Propane is a byproduct of natural gas and petroleum
refinement. Like gasoline prices, propane prices fluctuate
with the pressures from the supply and demand side of the
petroleum and natural gas markets. Because the supply of
propane is tied to natural gas and petroleum refinement,
its supply is limited. The “supply spigot” can’t be turned
on and off when the demand for propane changes. Due
to this factor, when propane demand rises, prices tend to
rise as well.
(continued...)
off their propane products at higher prices to recoup their
costs.
If you use propane, be a smart consumer, shop around
and be informed about the choices available to you.
Educate yourself about when is the best time of the year
to purchase propane. Shop and compare prices, and if
you intend to use propane for foreseeable future, look into
the cost of purchasing your own stationary cylinder.
Residential and commercial use contributes 42% of the
demand for propane and that demand tends to peak
during the winter heating months of October - March.
Prices tend to rise during these months and suppliers pass
these costs on to their customers.
Other factors that contribute to propane prices are the
distance the customer lives from the supply source, as
transportation costs are incorporated in to the product
price. Propane prices are also directly influenced by the
price of the crude oil market. As petroleum refinement
costs increas due to higher crude oil prices, refineries sell
January - March 2009
Spotlight on Weights & Measures
Weights and Measures Week
in the marketplace is a cornerstone of economic health
for consumers and businesses alike. That is why John
Quincy Adams signed the first weights and measures
law in the United States. In celebration of that event
the National Conference on Weights and Measures
(NCWM) promotes Weights & Measures Week.
The NCWM consists of state and local officials,
members of the National Institute for Standards and
Technology, weighing and measuring instrument
manufacturers and industry and business representatives.
To advance a healthy business and consumer climate
through the development and implementation of
uniform and equitable weights and measures standards
using a consensus building process, NCWM ensures
uniformity, consistency and fairness in the marketplace.
With more than 2,400 weights and measures regulatory
professionals, it sets standards and enforces uniform
procedures to verify weight, volume, length or count,
ensuring that consumers get the quantity that they
pay for, and that businesses sell the quantity that they
intend and advertise.
March 1–7, 2009, has been designated Weights &
Measures Week, to recognize the 210th anniversary
of the first weights and measures laws enacted by the
Congress of the United States on March 2, 1799.
Weights and measures professionals’ nationwide work
together to create confidence in the marketplace,
resulting in consumers getting what they pay for and
businesses competing fairly.
Weights and Measures Week is a perfect time to
recognize and say thank you to local merchants and
government for supporting the work of state and county
weights and measures officials.
Today’s society places great trust in the marketplace that
we are getting what we pay for. Retailers rely on a fair
environment where the competition is held to the same
high standards that they themselves adhere to. Fairness
Spotlight on Weights & Measures January - March 2009
At a time when people are looking for efficient and
effective government, look no further than state and
local weights and measures programs. Considering
as much as 50% of a family’s income is used to
purchase consumer goods, the impact on an inaccurate
marketplace can be significant to each of us. The cost
of a regulatory presence is less than $1.00 per person,
per year. Yet we can realize the full return on that
investment in a single trip to the market.
The effect of small inaccuracies in transactions can be
very profound, and affect your personal budget. For
example, if no deduction is taken for the weight of the
packaging material (tare weight) in a supermarket’s meat
counter, every one pound package sold, overcharges the
buyer $.12 if the average cost is $3.99 per pound. If
there are 2500 packages in the counter, the cumulative
overcharge equals $300.00. If the errors go unchecked,
you can calculate the overcharge you would personally
incur depending on your buying habits.
Firewood
If you are in the habit of buying firewood to warm your
home in the cold winter months, we would like to take
a few moments to reacquaint you with how firewood is
measured and how it must be sold to consumers.
According to California’s Business and Professions Code,
bulk firewood must be sold by the unit of measure called
a “cord.” A cord must equal 128 cubic feet. If the wood
offered for sale is less
then 1/8 of a cord, it
is to be sold by cubic
feet or a fraction of a
cubic foot.
therefore, the consumer has no way of determining how
much firewood he/she is actually receiving. If a seller
uses such terms, it is an indicator of a potential pricing
inconsitency problem. Firewood can only be sold by the
“cord” or “fraction of a cord”.
Get What You Pay For – Get It in Writing
To be sure you have a
cord, stack the wood
neatly by placing the
wood in a line or a
row, with individual
pieces touching and
parallel to each other,
making sure that the
wood is compact
and has as few gaps
as possible. Then
measure the stack.
If the width times
the height times the
length equals 128
cubic feet, you have a
cord of firewood.
When you buy firewood, make sure to get a sales invoice or
delivery ticket which
shows the name and
address of the seller,
the date purchased or
delivered, the quantity
purchased, and the
price of the quantity
purchased. When the
wood is delivered, ask
the seller to stack it
(you may have to pay
extra for this service)
or stack the wood
yourself. Measure the
wood before using
any of it. If the
cubic measurement
indicates that you did
not receive the correct
volume, contact the
seller before you burn
any wood.
Words or Phrases that May Indicate You Are Not
Getting the Proper Measurement
What to Do if You Think You Have Been Short
Changed
Law defines a cord, just like other measurements such as
a foot, a gallon, or a ton. A seller may not legitimately use
terms such as “truckload,” “face cord,” “rack,” or “pile”
because these terms have no legally defined meaning and,
If the seller can not or will not correct the problem,
contact your weights and measures office before you burn
any wood. It is also helpful to document the possible
shortage by taking a picture of the stacked wood.
133 Aviation Blvd., Ste. 110
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
PHONE:
(707) 565-2371
FAX:
(707) 565-3850
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
www.sonoma-county.org/agcomm/weights_measures/
January - March 2009
Spotlight on Weights & Measures