IID board tackles how to deal with water rate hike protests, and internal governance issues
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on May 14, 2008 at 6:21 amFrom the Imperial Valley Press:
As the Imperial Irrigation District is undergoing a water rate and cost of service study, questions are being raised over who can protest if rates are raised.
For instance, an apartment building might have one water meter which serves all tenants. How many of them can protest a water hike and how would that be counted?
Abatti proposed a resolution that would give “one written protest per parcel” on any changes in the water fee.
The solution to the issue is just not that simple, Garber said. Proposition 218, that changed the way public notice and counting of protests was done more than 10 years ago, has been litigated in several court cases since then. Garber said the questions over how you notice property owners or tenants who can protest, and how it is all counted still linger for the district. What types of water charges, residential and irrigation use, the law applies to is also in question.
The board eventually voted to table the issue, with a promise from Garber to return with a full set of regulations that would address water rate-setting changes in the next 30 days.
Director James Hanks also pushed for clearer direction on how the board can proceed if it needs to raise rates in the future. “What we’re looking for is who gets the votes and a process the average person can understand,” Hanks said.
Also from the Imperial Valley Press:
Frustrated by projects over budget and a lack of accurate reporting by staff to the board, Imperial Irrigation District director Mike Abatti said things have to change. “We need ethical reporting, we need accurate reporting,” Abatti said.
The proposed change came before the IID Board of Directors in the way of a proposed change to the governance manual adopted nearly a year ago. Since then, the manual has been altered several times. The proposed amendment, brought forward by Abatti, would add a number of duties to the project management office that would oversee capital projects.
The PMO would also report to the general manager but also have a “functional reporting responsibility to the IID board.”
General Manager Brian Brady said though he agrees the amendment included some positive changes to the governance, he asked the board not to take action before he could integrate needed changes into his strategic planning. “The changes are overly broad,” Brady said.
Read the full text of this article from the Imperial Valley Press by clicking here.
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