News from the Front : Status Quo is the way to go.
Todays’ CCSD meeting was relatively short: the Board adjourned at to Closed Session at 4:00. The agenda had only three main items, plus the Manager’s Report and the Consent Agenda items. Quite a bit gets said during a three and a half hour meeting, and if you’re lucky, you are able to get something done. To summarize the action taken by the Board today: They accepted the auditor’s report for 2006-2007; determined that the Standby/Availability Charges would continue permitted by Statute; and determined that Cambria would be subject to the same Defensible Space clearance laws as the last 30 years. In other words, 3.5 hours to keep the Status Quo.
But don’t let that fool you. It was far from a waste of time. The discussions at this meeting made some very important clarifications and moved the Board toward an attitude of greater public participation and transparency. Why do I think this?
Is Cambria Protected from Runaway Construction Costs?
Director Funke-Bilu asked that the resolution authorizing reimbursement agreement with SLO County be pulled from the consent agenda for discussion. I, for one, was glad he did so, because discussing the issue was an important step toward transparency and clarity. He wanted to be sure that the CCSD’s portion of the funding was limited and the District would not be liable for ballooning construction costs. District Engineer Bob Greshen worked hard on the District’s behalf to reduce the cost of the relocation. Quick recap: The County is the lead agency, working with CalTrans and money from a grant to retrofit the bridge at Leffingwell Park on Moonstone Beach Drive. The CCSD uses the underside of the bridge to pipe water from the San Simeon wells to Cambria. The replacement of the bridge would require the CCSD to temporarily relocate the supply pipes during construction and then move them back, once the bridgework was finished – at a cost of possibly almost $1,000,000. This is where Greshen’s work helped us so much. To avoid the District having to put the pipe relocation out to bid and working around the County’s schedule to make sure the pipe was moved at the right time and the crews weren’t in each other’s way, the pipe relocation will be part of the County’s bid for the work on the bridge, and the District will pay 12% of the cost of that portion of the project to the County. So the agreement with the County means they are adding the pipe relocation to their project, and the District will only have to pay for part it.
Director Funke-Bilu concern was that the agreement didn’t seem to provide for an upper limit for the District’s out-of-pocket cost on the project and the absence of any discussion of the grant and the 88% of the cost it would cover. The matter was not resolved, and timing is critical because there is grant money involved. I’m glad Director Funke-Bilu is looking out for the community’s pocketbook, I just hope it won’t mean we’re out on our own again with the pipe relocation.
An Audit of the Audit = Revision
Next up was the auditor to present their findings regarding fiscal year 2006-07. And this time it was Director Clift’s turn to speak up for the community. He raised the issue of over $2.6 million being shown as a loan from the general fund to the Water Enterprise Fund. The funds had come from the General Fund to cover deficits in the Water Enterprise and the costs of the Pine Knolls tanks. Director Sanders spoke up and indicated that some, if not all of the Board members understood it wasn’t really a loan, that they didn’t really intend that the Water Enterprise Fund would be paying the money back to the General Fund. It’s one of the things the Board has done fairly regularly although Director Sanders wanted to make it clear that it wasn’t official policy of the Board and he would prefer if they didn’t have to do that. The auditor was clearly surprised at this information and said that the audit report would have to be changed to reflect that.
I called Director Clift this evening, to make sure I understood it correctly. He said he raised the issue because he was concerned that if it were considered a loan, it put the Water Enterprise Fund even further in the hole, which could trigger even higher rates to raise funds to pay it back. The board briefly discussed the reality that they had been using general fund money to keep the Water enterprise afloat and that having a policy about how money is identified when it moves from one fund to another should be addressed. They directed that the auditor change the report to reflect the $2.6 million as an interfund transfer, instead of a loan. This doesn’t change the the actual balances or other information. It just more accurately shows that the board didn’t intend that the water enterprise fund would pay the money back into the general fund.
Director Clift is clearly taking his responsibility to this community seriously. He had read the audit and asked one very important question that illuminated the absence of policy regarding interfund transfers and loans and the use of general funds for capitol projects and to cover deficits in the Enterprise funds. Now the Board needs to address that issue, so we can be assured that the community’s money is appropriately managed.
In Good CCSD Meetings are Possible Part 2:
The Cambria Wildland Fire Protection Act : Direct Funke-Bilu shows commitment to the community and integrity in withdrawing his support for the ordinance.
The CFRC presents its rates proposal to the Board and answers some questions.
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