By IMPERIAL VALLEY STAFF
Saturday, June 27, 2009 10:22 PM PDT
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We respect the job of the Imperial County Grand Jury and realize it can be a thankless one. Let us first say thank you for your service.
Having said that, we were very disappointed by the grand jury’s recent report on the Imperial Irrigation District. The five-page report contains plenty of vague assertions with no real supporting facts and makes at least one recommendation that defies logic.
Reading the report makes it clear that the grand jury doesn’t have an understanding of how public entities work. For example, it takes aim at the district for presenting a budget that has rate increases before the increases were approved. That is how public bodies work. If the increases are not approved, as they were not in this case, the budget is changed to reflect that. This is standard operating procedure for public entities, not some dark plan to deceive anyone. In fact, the district held public workshops and hearings on these proposed increases. This was not hidden from the public.
The report also tells the district where it should set its water rates. We are convinced that is not the job of the grand jury, and this is severe overreaching.
But it is probably no surprise in a document that basically calls the IID corrupt but has no evidence to back up the assertion. If the grand jury can find real evidence of corruption, this newspaper would run it on the front page daily. So far there is no evidence of that. We want facts, not conjecture.
The most stunning part of the report comes in the recommendations. The second recommendation reads as follows:
“The IID Board of Directors must commit its time and talents to running the entity themselves, rather than allow decisions to rest in and information to filter through hands of a single General Manager, who is unelected and unaccountable to stakeholders.”
This recommendation actually runs counter to reason. First, one of the biggest problems the IID had in the past was micromanaging directors. It is their job to set policy, not run the district. The board did the right thing in hiring a well-qualified general manager, and is now letting him do his job.
The grand jury must understand that the IID board has one direct report — the general manager. Elected board members set the policy and he puts it into action. To say he is unaccountable is ridiculous. As elected officials, the board directs him. If he is not doing his job, it is their job to fire him. It is very simple.
The last thing the IID needs is the board meddling in the daily business of the district. We have long argued that, and the board is finally on the right track.
The grand jury has promised annual investigations of the district, and we say that is good. But we hope that in the future the grand jury reports on the IID have actual substance.
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2009/06/28/our_opinion/ed02_06-28-09.txt
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