As there were three board members present the meeting was held in the format adhering to the Brown Act. After President of the Board, Copperopolis District representative, Dennis Dooley took the floor for public comment, CCWD General Manager Mitch Dion (with CCWD for 6 months) explained the process of a rate based public agency and the rules governing rate increases.
Protest letter rules were touched on. According to Dion only an owner (which may be a bank in a foreclosed property) may submit a protest letter to CCWD regarding the proposed rate increases. However according to the California Constitution Article 13 Section 2 g :
(g) "Property ownership" shall be deemed to include tenancies of real property where tenants are directly liable to pay the assessment, fee, or charge in question.
Approximately 7000 water protest letters need to be received and 2200 waste water protest letters received to attain a 50 +1 percent for the Board to revisit the proposal.
Why the rate increase of 2007 did not put a bandaid on an ailing system was not made clear. Nor was it made clear what dollar amount lay in reserves. However, Dooley has proposed that if the rate increase goes into effect there be a line item on CCWD customers bills stating how much of their bill is going to Capitol Improvements creating what he hopes will be more transparency.
The next town hall meeting will be held in Valley Springs at the Rancho Calaveras Clubhouse from 6:30 to 8 pm. With a public hearing scheduled for July 10, 2013 at 9 am at the CCWD office at 423 St Charles Street - the old CCWD building not the new one recently completed at a cost of $3 million. Dion pointed to the construction of the new building as an "investment in the community" stating that local labor was utilized.
If the county sees an increase in new construction in the next few years the revenue from those projects will "be spent on other capital improvements" stated CCWD CFO with a flawed projection of new construction being the cause of the current financial dilemma. When asked if CCWD would hold developers responsible for their share of the capital improvement and expansion costs CCWD CFO stated that building is approved by the county, CCWD is responsible for providing the water utilities.
When asked if there would be an available sliding scale for those with less income Dion stated that CCWD is prohibited from creating economic adjustments under the State water code.
The CFO further stated that many of the employees are operating without COLA's (cost of living increases) yet he himself had indeed received a raise within the past few years. He stated that all employees, management included, pay proportionately into their benefit packages.
To download a pdf sample protest letter CLICK HERE
