Important questions! Who will replace them? If all or a majority of the board are voted out in a recall election, then the county board of supervisors will either appoint sufficient successors to establish a quorum (3), or order an election to fill the vacant seats for the remainder of their terms. What is the plan that will keep our water rates reasonable? In a word, "vigilance.” It is up to the district voters to recruit, support, and elect candidates who will prioritize affordable water rates, and—as we are trying to do now—remove them from office when they don’t. In the present situation, only two members are up for re-election in November 2024, so that even if they are voted out at that time, a majority of rate hike supporters remain in office for another two years. That adds up to 40 months of “unreasonable” water bills. A successful recall shortens the bloodletting, and issues clearmarching orders to the replacements that their days in office are numbered unless they get the rates back down. But the recall process may not need to play out to the bitter end. The water board can at any time suspend and reconsider its rate hikes. This is exactly what the Santa Margarita Water District board did when faced with public outcries after it passed big rate hikes in Capistrano. https://www.thecapistranodispatch.com/water-district-board-elects-to-reexamine-san-juan-utility-rates-following-outcry/ That board listened to the people they were elected to represent and decided to revisit the underlying rate study. Ours could do the same. The problem, though—as anyone who attended the standing-room-only board hearing on June 29 can attest—is that they are not listening. And a neighbor who has a two-inch residential water meter recently appealed to the district for some relief from the $271 monthly fixed meter charge and was denied and told, “nobody else has complained about it.” Since the last board election way back in 2008, the board has passed a series of incremental rate hikes, each received with some grumbling and token protest votes, but posing no serious threat to their political careers. It hardly seems surprising, then, that they might naturally assume that people would just accept the big one in June, hand in a few protest votes, grumble for a while, and then forget about it. A recall serves to get their attention and remind them that, this time, they’ve gone too far, turning the heat up so high that the frogs are starting to jump out of the boiling pot. As the recall process unfolds over the months, they will have time to come to their senses and re-examine the increases and the underlying rate study. That rate study failed to consider what customers could afford to pay, and thus failed to provide a realistic assessment of the district’s income.
I understand the reasoning for wanting to recall the board and that's a good step. I also appreciate the work to articulate the outrageous increases, and highlight the lack of reasoning and justification for such massive increases.
Has a formal complaint already been filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)? The CPUC is the regulating body for, and watchdog of utility companies to ensure they provide safe, reliable utility service at reasonable rates, as well as protecting against fraud. It sounds like you've collected enough data and information to submit a formal complaint, which then the CPUC is required to investigate.
Mike, as I understand it, the CPUC only regulates investor--owned or private utilities, which would not include the TCWD. If you know otherwise, though, please let us know. Thanks.
I understand why the board members need to be recalled but I have heard nothing about your plan once they are replaced, who will replace them and what is the plan that will keep our water rates reasonable. I think most people here need to know that.
Important questions! Who will replace them? If all or a majority of the board are voted out in a recall election, then the county board of supervisors will either appoint sufficient successors to establish a quorum (3), or order an election to fill the vacant seats for the remainder of their terms. What is the plan that will keep our water rates reasonable? In a word, "vigilance.” It is up to the district voters to recruit, support, and elect candidates who will prioritize affordable water rates, and—as we are trying to do now—remove them from office when they don’t. In the present situation, only two members are up for re-election in November 2024, so that even if they are voted out at that time, a majority of rate hike supporters remain in office for another two years. That adds up to 40 months of “unreasonable” water bills. A successful recall shortens the bloodletting, and issues clearmarching orders to the replacements that their days in office are numbered unless they get the rates back down. But the recall process may not need to play out to the bitter end. The water board can at any time suspend and reconsider its rate hikes. This is exactly what the Santa Margarita Water District board did when faced with public outcries after it passed big rate hikes in Capistrano. https://www.thecapistranodispatch.com/water-district-board-elects-to-reexamine-san-juan-utility-rates-following-outcry/ That board listened to the people they were elected to represent and decided to revisit the underlying rate study. Ours could do the same. The problem, though—as anyone who attended the standing-room-only board hearing on June 29 can attest—is that they are not listening. And a neighbor who has a two-inch residential water meter recently appealed to the district for some relief from the $271 monthly fixed meter charge and was denied and told, “nobody else has complained about it.” Since the last board election way back in 2008, the board has passed a series of incremental rate hikes, each received with some grumbling and token protest votes, but posing no serious threat to their political careers. It hardly seems surprising, then, that they might naturally assume that people would just accept the big one in June, hand in a few protest votes, grumble for a while, and then forget about it. A recall serves to get their attention and remind them that, this time, they’ve gone too far, turning the heat up so high that the frogs are starting to jump out of the boiling pot. As the recall process unfolds over the months, they will have time to come to their senses and re-examine the increases and the underlying rate study. That rate study failed to consider what customers could afford to pay, and thus failed to provide a realistic assessment of the district’s income.
I understand the reasoning for wanting to recall the board and that's a good step. I also appreciate the work to articulate the outrageous increases, and highlight the lack of reasoning and justification for such massive increases.
Has a formal complaint already been filed with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)? The CPUC is the regulating body for, and watchdog of utility companies to ensure they provide safe, reliable utility service at reasonable rates, as well as protecting against fraud. It sounds like you've collected enough data and information to submit a formal complaint, which then the CPUC is required to investigate.
Mike, as I understand it, the CPUC only regulates investor--owned or private utilities, which would not include the TCWD. If you know otherwise, though, please let us know. Thanks.
I understand why the board members need to be recalled but I have heard nothing about your plan once they are replaced, who will replace them and what is the plan that will keep our water rates reasonable. I think most people here need to know that.
Al Burnham