Dear Editor, Over the past few months, this newspaper has
inaccurately reported on a joint Santa Clara Valley Water
District-Santa Clara County initiative to create clearer voter
accountability while giving residents a more efficient return on
investments to safeguard the community’s water supply and provide
greater flood protection.
Dear Editor,
Over the past few months, this newspaper has inaccurately reported on a joint Santa Clara Valley Water District-Santa Clara County initiative to create clearer voter accountability while giving residents a more efficient return on investments to safeguard the community’s water supply and provide greater flood protection.
The water district is an independent special district that provides wholesale water supply, groundwater management, flood protection and watershed stewardship services throughout Santa Clara County. In 1968, legislation consolidated water resource agencies in the county to bring about a unified water-management approach. Provisions of that legislation required that the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors maintain involvement with the district by approving its annual budget and by appointing two of the water district’s seven board members.
The county and district have come to the conclusion that the 38-year-old arrangement no longer serves the best interests of Santa Clara County’s residents and businesses.
We are jointly pursuing state legislation to remove the county’s role in district governance, which will reduce costs to taxpayers and allow the district to better serve its customers and increase elected officials’ accountability to voters.
Your latest story (“County ends relationship with Valley Water District,”), reported that the joint county-district effort began after a “sharply critical” audit ordered by the county “said the district overpays its employees, charges too much for water and mismanages its capital projects budget.”
Supervisors did not order an audit of the district. It directed its management audit division to prepare an independent analysis and recommendations for budget modifications to the district’s budget for this current fiscal year. The budget review was completed with 18 recommendations provided to the district for its consideration.
Moreover, the Board of Supervisors adopted the water district budget as submitted.
The budget review did not make any findings concerning the compensation of district employees. In fact, it stated “Due to the limited scope of this budget review, we cannot comment on the appropriateness of the organizational structure, mix of staff or compensation paid to employees of the district. However, such analysis would appropriately be included in a management audit.”
The district did not determine that the county budget review was “illegitimate,” but suggested the recommendations be referred to the district board to be considered with the district’s comprehensive performance audit currently under way.
Together, the county and the district are working with the state legislature to sponsor legislation needed to increase the transparency of the water district and to allow each agency to focus on its respective responsibilities to the community.
This legislation will make the water district conform to the budgetary practices of all the other independent special districts statewide by providing for a board of directors, independent of another elected body.
A truly independent district will allow more efficient use of taxpayer dollars for the community’s water supply and flood-protection needs, and provide greater voter accountability.
Stanley M. Williams, CEO,
Santa Clara Valley Water District
