Next Monday, the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors will consider a proposal to raise the pump tax 7.8 percent. That would take the fee that the district charges city water agencies and agriculture users - farmers, from $255 an acre foot of water to $275. The district provides drinking water and flood protection to 1.8 million Santa Clara County residents. Its $364 million annual budget comes from water bills and property taxes.
If the proposal passes, it will be the tenth time in 10 years that the district has gone back to the well for more money. The district says the increase is needed to cover higher operational costs.
Water district needs to be cleaned up and cleaned out
Rising costs and a weakening economy are affecting everyone, but it's easy to see why a growing number of people are upset and are calling for massive changes in the district's governance.
Term limits are needed for the water district directors and assurances that any increase in the pump tax won't be used for administrative expenses.
We call on the state legislature to create term limits for water district directors. We need them to be activists, willing to ride herd on the district's management. Ten increases in 10 years is too many and the directors' blind acceptance of increases seeming without any accountability is wrong.
While we're typically against term limits, in this case we favor them. The time has come for change - if not in the directors, then certainly in the way the water district is run.
Increases are no surprise from mismanaged agency
The water district has been generous with taxpayer money in paying its staff and just last month, two top staff members received pay raises making them the highest paid employees of any water district in the state. And let's not forget that CEO Stan Williams resigned last year after charges of collusion when he hired then-board member Greg Zlotnick to a newly created $184,000-a-year job at the district without advertising the position or discussing it with board members. During Williams' tenure district staff grew almost 50 percent, according to a 2005-06 audit by the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury, which issued a report saying that salaries and benefits for the district's top managers are excessive.
In any organization, a board of directors manages the organization's managers. Water district directors have shirked this key responsibility. We can only assume that it is because some of them have been on the board too long. That's where term limits would help. On Tuesday, directors Sig Sanchez, a board member for more 25 years and Joe Judge, who has been on the board for 22 years, were re-elected. That's simply too long.
In these challenging economic times for agencies, governments and all of us, we'd like to see the water district directors say no to the proposed pump tax increase. The water district needs to know that the taxpayer's well is going dry.
Act now:
Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors will vote on the pump tax fee at 1:30 p.m. Monday at district headquarters, 5750 Almaden Expressway, San Jose. Contact the directors at (408) 265-2600 or e-mail them at clearkoftheboard@valleywater.org.
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