DIVIDE CITIZENS FOR WATER]
Board Members Present: Director USO, Halprin, Wadle, and Hanschild
COUNT OF PROTEST VOTES – 218
GDPUD decided the amount needed to stop the rate hike was 1,998, Protest Letters were submitted from 1,824, short of the vote to stop the increase by 174.
The starting date for the increase is January 1, 2018.
As outlined when Director USO solely negotiated the contract with the union as soon as he won the election, generous salary increases are tied to each rate increase. Personnel costs are at an exorbitantly high percentage of operating costs due to the recent hiring spree of ditch tenders and additional engineers. (you have a board the union worked very hard to elect)
The Cost of Service Report for the increase was based on June’s projected budget for operations. Staff put the burden of the majority of the Calpers cost on the ag customers, ……..(ag customers don’t mind sharing cost of ditch tenders, but the high cost of treatment plants should not be on ag customers. engineers, waste water workers, etc.) The high cost of PGE pumping from the new treatment plant vs the first location at Greenwood (gravity flow) should also be a cost only to treated water customers.
State reports submitted in 2006//2007 by GM inflated the number of employees to 28, which included board members and contract vendors……..to justify the doubling of said GM salary to 252k, also justified the board starting to receive medical, dental, life insurance, etc.
Historically a very small irrigation district of 76 miles of gravity flow system with little maintenance, with 17 employees, a couple seasonal and the best water in the state.
Introducing treated water brought a huge expense of treatment plants, operators, state regulations, etc.
This rate increase will put a heavy burden on ag water for treatment plants, operators, etc.
(the mood of the Divide had always been ag water for aesthetics, much more pleasant to see green pastures, grazing animals, vs a sea of rooftops.}
SMERF
There will be ample revenue after more hires and salary increases to return the funds that were frugally saved for 70 years by the past conservative members of the board ie Flynn, Lampson, etc.
With a 3 to 2 vote on February 9, 2016, Item 13,”Capital Reserve Account Proposal” changed the name of the “Stumpy Meadows Emergency Reserve Fund” to “Stumpy Meadow Reserve Fund”, and seems to be the M.O. of this board, “drain reserve funds”………..The motion by USO to take the fund from $2,161,051 (apprx 2.2 million) down to $500k.
YES VOTES: USO, Hanschild, Krizl
NO VOTES: Capraun, Hoelsch
With one linear system precariously balanced on the side of a mountain coming out of Stumpy to supply water to the Divide, it would be beneficial to have some reserve funds in a very wet year, fire damage, tree or slide damage, etc. (this fiscal behavior is more precarious than the 70 year old single conveyance system)
NEW BOARD MEMBER
December 13, 2017
Director Hoelscher moved and resigned, the board appointed Dave Souza. (Interesting the one person that was at the first interview was Ray Griffiths, who would have been the only representative of ag water…………but,…………. Mr. Griffiths declined the second interview???.)
ALSO
at this meeting the board voted to set the fee for Fire Safety Mandate of replacing 5/8 inches to 1 inch for any permit for new construction or remodel. The cost will be $20k for a GDPUD permit for a customer to meet minimum Fire Safety Standards.
HARDSHIP PAYMENTS
The Salvation Army in Placerville will help Divide residence that are having trouble paying the water bill.
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Divide Citizens for Water is a PAC that was established in 2006 to oversee the water district by reporting to the people. Support a program to replace, maintain, and extend water service to the people of the district, in a reliable inexpensive way. The credit or blame is to go to the PAC, not any one individual.
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