June
11, 2014
The
Union of Grass Valley
By Liz Kellar
The Nevada County Grand Jury on Wednesday
released its report investigating the recent approval of a 6 percent rate hike
by the Nevada Irrigation District.
According to the report, NID’s board of
directors previously had opted not to increase rates, instead using reserves to
meet obligations.
“A decrease in revenue from the lower sales
of their electric power, the cost of relicensing their hydroelectric facilities
with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and contractual changes with
Pacific Gas and Electric Company ... drastically reduced their reserves to
dangerously low levels,” the report said. “If Nevada Irrigation District
continued to operate in this fashion, the reserve fund would be totally
depleted by 2020. This would make it impossible to respond to any unexpected
event.”
The Grand Jury investigated the rate increase
after a citizen complaint questioned the justification, the report noted.
The report said that NID is the primary
source of drinking and irrigation water in western Nevada County, and its rates
were currently below that of adjacent water agencies.
The Grand Jury found that the board of
directors for NID had ignored their fiscal responsibility by failing to address
increased costs, but recognized that NID was in fiscal trouble unless their
business model changed.
“NID has made proactive fiscal decisions to
control operating and maintenance costs and rebuild reserves,” the report
concluded.
The Grand Jury had no recommendations for
changes and required no response from NID.
To see a copy of the full report, go to www.nevadacountycourts.com
and click on “Grand Jury Reports.”
To contact City Editor Liz Kellar, email
lkellar@theunion.com or call 530-477-4229.
UPDATE: This story was updated to clarify the
headline and to report the Grand Jury required no response from NID.
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