Breaches reportedly include nepotism, tolerance of insubordination
The Cuyama Community Services District board of directors must start making changes to the district management structure, according to a grand jury report, which found that the district has broken several of its own rules.
Violations cited in the report by the Santa Barbara County civil grand jury include nepotism, lack of policy enforcement and supporting a hostile work environment.
Cuyama Community Services District (CCSD), located 47 miles east of Santa Maria, has provided potable water and sewage disposal services for a population of about 500 low-income households for over 20 years.
Members of the board of directors did not respond to requests for comment.
The report, titled "Operating under Difficult Circumstances," was released Monday and listed problems with the board of directors' management, including recommendations for resolving each problem.
Many of the issues involve enforcing policies that already exist, the report stated, such as disciplining insubordination.
The grand jury reported that the board failed to enforce disciplinary policies when an employee that was instructed to deny water services to delinquent accounts ignored the policy and worked out payment plans twice, once in 2013 and again in 2014. The report stated that the employee lacked the authority to create payment plans with customers and that the CCSD averages $11,000 in overdue monthly accounts receivable.
"The Board of Directors must enforce its delinquent accounts collection policy" said the report, and must enforce its written policies on disciplinary procedures regarding insubordination.
The grand jury also reported that a failure to maintain job descriptions at CCSD created issues of nepotism, after finding that the manager's son worked as the assistant operator and reported to his father, although there was no job description for the position.
Initially hired as an hourly worker in 1999, the report states that the assistant operator was switched to salaried status in 2015, (still without a job description) to address questions raised by a board member regarding proper documentation of time sheets for the position.
The jury also noted that the board failed to maintain an appropriate work environment, resulting in board members resigning from their positions.
"In the opinion of numerous people interviewed by the Jury, raised voices and hostile language have been used repeatedly at public board meetings and during the work day," the report said.
Evidence from meeting minutes, tape recordings of board meetings and director resignation letters "have indicated that the work environment is disruptive and colleagues are disrespectful to each other ... there is an atmosphere of intimidation and 9-1-1 has been called."
The grand jury made recommendations for resolving each issue found during the investigation.
No job descriptions reportedly exist for Assistant Operator, Relief Secretary, Maintenance Worker and Assistant Maintenance Worker. The jury recommended that the board ensure job descriptions are updated and prepared for all employees, and that policies addressing conflicts of interest such as nepotism be enforced.
The jury also recommended that the Cuyama Community Services District board of directors require the existing job description for Manager for Water/Sewer Operations be updated to include licensing requirements and professional qualifications.
Finally, the board must increase its revenues to remain financially viable and inform the public regarding the need for water and wastewater rate increases, according to the jury.
The Cuyama Community Services District has 90 days to respond to the grand jury's report.
March 10, 2016
Lompoc Record
By Gina Kim
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