Yesterday there was a Special Meeting of the CCSD Board of Directors. On the agenda: election of officers and  consideration of rescinding the recently imposed rate increase. For 2009, Greg Sanders will serve as board president and Peter Chaldecott will be vice-president.

I won’t keep you in suspense – you probably already know that the Board passed resolution 01-2009 which rescinded the higher rates. Those rates kicked in last September and one billing cycle has passed the payment deadline (which means you paid it, I hope.) Bills for the November-December billing period will be sent out tomorrow. In that bill will also be an explanation of how to read that bill, since the CCSD has determined it will not refund cash, but instead credit your utility account with the overpaid amount. General Manager Tammy Rudock explained that there are about a hundred accounts of tenants who have moved out or where the account holder no longer has an active account. Those folks will be issues checks in the amount of their overpayment, unless that amount is less than $5. This method of returning the money was chosen because it is less time intensive and less expensive than actually refunding money.

So what next? Well, the understanding that the water and sewer rates must go up is nearly universal. And Jerry McKinnon asked a very critical question following the Board’s discussion on the matter. “Why not keep the money already collected – since its needed?”   The response from President Sanders and Director Clift centered on the very real threat of litigation by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.  If a lawsuit was brought against the district, we could end up with several hundred thousand dollars in lawyers fees and even if the District was found to be in the right, it would mean no additional monies or increases for the 2 or 3 year life of the suit. And although we would pay more for water, any amount over the “current” rates would likely be required to be deposited in an escrow account as a contingency plan – because if the District did not prevail, it would be obligated to refund that money.

I was glad that the Board spoke to the real reason behind their action: the threat of litigation. Fighting against the impending lawsuit would have just exacerbated the problem – what with attorney fees and all the lost billing cycles when the increase could’ve padded the accounts. That rescission was the right thing to do should have played a larger role, but then we may not have had this situation in the first place.

Just before the Board voted on passage of the resolution, Director Chaldecott explained he would be abstaining from this vote. His reason was that he had been a member of the board that had passed the increase. By abstaining, he took a very important first step in building the bridges of trust.  Although he didn’t want to vote yes on the resolution, he clearly wasn’t comfortable voting no. I hope this trend will continue we go forward.

Speaking of going forward: the Board (through its committees) will be looking into budget items (like conferences) and addressing the priorities for Capital Improvements projects and the committees will report back at the next Board meeting. More on this “new” method of doing things  tomorrow.

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