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Palmdale Water District’s donations questioned after agency hikes water rates

Posted by: Maven on April 14, 2009 at 6:32 am

From the Antelope Valley Press:

Some residents questioned why the Palmdale Water District board approved donating money to youth groups at a time when agency officials say they are running out of funds to pay their bills and need to raise customers’ rates – in some cases by 200%.

Directors presented a total of $1,500 to three youth groups at the district board meeting on Wednesday night. Palmdale High School Baseball Boosters, Palmdale Pony Youth Baseball and the Palmdale High School Health Careers Academy each received $500 from the water district. District board President Jeff Storm said $2,000 was allocated in this year’s budget for sponsorship of youth groups. “This depletes the $2,000 set aside in the budget,” Storm said. In February, the board contributed $500 to the Palmdale Little League.

Storm said water district officials “recognize the value of youth activities” in the community and these donations show the children “we’re behind them.”

A board memo from district General Manager Randy Hill indicated that directors have “been supportive of community youth activities” for some time, and they established a policy and annual budget to aid those activities. “Sponsorship requests have typically been awarded on a first-come, first-served basis,” Hill wrote. He noted that with a zero balance in that budget item, any other requests for sponsorship donations will go before the Outreach Committee for review and determination.

“How did they get around Proposition 218 to take ratepayers’ money for contributions?” Mary Dincau asked, during a telephone interview following the meeting. At the water district board meeting, Dincau and other members of the Ana Verde Rural Homeowners Association were told Prop. 218 prevented the district from using ratepayers money to subsidize water bills for retired people living on Social Security and low-income families.

Read more from the Antelope Valley Press by clicking here.

April 14, 2009 · Filed Under Southern California

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