Blog note: this opinion piece references grand jury reports about the subject.
Residents in the Yorba Linda Water District have the right to vote to recall members of the Yorba Linda Water District Board of Directors, and it’s reasonable to do so now.
I’ve always been troubled by the lack of responsible leadership, transparency and accountability of the Yorba Linda Water District elected officials. As a former YLWD board member, I witnessed first-hand violations of both the letter and spirit of our state’s transparency laws, crony appointments and hiring, and questionable rate increases. More than once, the Orange County grand jury has weighed in, expressing concerns about the Water District, and some have called for merging the agency with the city.
Even with the great hardworking staff we had, the agency was hampered by its board culture. The culture was one of personal agendas, cronyism, lack of transparency, and an inability to deal with citizens taking a more active role – but that was then.
It was after the great water rate hike, when I learned that things really haven’t changed much.
Suffering through one of the worst droughts in state history, Californians were faced with the need to conserve water drastically. In Orange County, long a place for innovative, cost effective conservation programs, residents saw signs of how their agencies stepped up to the challenge, providing leadership in cutting water usage, and in urging residents to conserve.
That is, except in the YLWD, where the board thought it was a good strategy to play victim, and rail against “Gov. Brown’s mandate,” spending ratepayer dollars to take aim against a termed-out Democrat in a primarily Republican area. Yes, same old YLWD board lack of leadership. Notwithstanding, the people of Yorba Linda conserved, though probably less than they otherwise would have with real leadership.
And then, the pièce de résistance – “Gov. Brown’s mandate” became the reason to raise fees – with YLWD claiming that, with less water sales the agency would go broke and be taken over by the state. After raising rates, with more increases scheduled over the next few years, YLWD’s alleged $9 million deficit is now a surplus of over $5 million! Such huge water rate increases were never needed, giving credence to claims that YLWD budget was wildly over the top, rather than prudent.
With a flush treasury, thanks to their excessive rate increase, the board is poised to return that money – to developers! Two new proposed large developments in the Freeway Complex Fire area will benefit from an expansion of a pumping station to the tune of an estimated $500 per YLWD customer.
Normally, developers would have had to pay for the infrastructure needed. Yet the district is proceeding to the bidding stage for design work on the project even before the normal public processes and developer agreements are completed. This deviation from the norm and lack of transparency makes it difficult to fully assess what is in store for YLWD customers, or the sweetheart deals being planned. But we do know that, unless swift action is taken, YLWD customers will continue to see ever-increasing rates, coupled with a ballooning surplus in the YLWD treasury.
The Yorba Linda Taxpayers Association is expected to soon file completed petitions for a recall election. Normally, recall elections are costly, but at a cost of $5.40 per household, YLWD customers would save more than that through a rate rollback from a responsible board.
Normally, I do not support recalls – re-election time usually comes soon enough to make a change. But with our dollars flying out the door, and only two of the five YLWD directors up for re-election, there’s a needed urgency to replace a majority of the board to bring about responsible leadership and a new board culture.
June 5, 2016
The Orange County Register
By Mark Abramowitz, a former director on the board of the Yorba Linda Water District
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