By Julie BUTCHER

Following up on the June 13 meeting and reported in the June 15 CV Weekly, the elected board of the Crescenta Valley Water District (CVWD) met on Tuesday to deliberate and vote on the FY2017-18 budget and the proposed water rate increase.

As had been promised at the public hearing on the rate increase on June 13, the District posted answers to the questions which had been asked before and at that meeting and updated documents available on its website www.cvwd.com even as the board meeting was beginning. Responding to input and corrections raised by members of the community, amended and finalized budget sheets were distributed at the meeting.

For an average customer, the rate increase proposed represents a monthly increase of $5.46. Users defined by the rate structure as “heavy users,” customers using twice that amount (17.5 units), will see a monthly increase of $8.85. Average usage is calculated based on the actual water consumption of the district’s 7,490 residential customers and is annualized as an average of 8.5 units (17,000 gallons every two months).

The start of the meeting was delayed while the board deliberated an unrelated personnel matter while a smaller contingent of the public than had attended the previous meeting waited to be heard.

Jonas Williams expressed his disappointment with the increase.

“Year after year after year, we’re hit with rate increases. I come from private industry, and I don’t see a level of scrutiny of expenses that I’d expect. There don’t seem to be any specific set savings targets or anything other than a ‘We’ll try to cut costs’ approach. That’s not enough.”

Williams wrapped up his public testimony. “I’ve read through the letters of protest on the District’s website and there are several from seniors on fixed incomes. It’s shameful that we’re not seeing more aggressive action to cut costs.”

Another member of the public spoke passionately against the increase, waving his water bill at the board.

“For 40 years I’ve lived here and the bill just keeps going up and up. I have brothers who live in other cities who pay less. On my street [3000 block of Prospect] there’s 80 feet that you people have dug up to fix and then had to fix it again and again. SCE contracts out this kind of work to get it done right.”

Once the public comment period concluded, board members deliberated, first on the overall FY2017-18 budget and then on the specific resolution assumed by the budget to implement the rate increase.

At the last minute, director Judy Tejeda attempted to propose changes to the budget document to borrow additional funds from district reserves to reduce the rate increase. Director Kerry Erickson supported her failed effort. Tejeda and Erickson voted against the budget; Tejeda voted against the resolution effectuating the rate increase. Both measures passed.

Director Mike Claessens summarized the board’s action.

“No one wants to raise rates. There are very few knobs left for us to twist and it would be easier to kick the can down the road. But we need to take the responsible path. We ask staff to justify every expense when they start the budget process, as we did, months ago.”

“We’ve got to do the responsible thing here. We can’t use any more of our savings than we’re already doing. That would be irresponsible. Look at what’s happened in Flint [Michigan] when elected officials stopped being responsible. It is unpopular to raise rates, but it is the right thing to do,” Claessens concluded his comments.

Director James Bodnar closed the meeting after the vote.

“I want to thank the public for engaging and I want to remind us all that ours is a community district, not-for-profit. The wells we have drilled will help build our water supply for the future. Infrastructure costs we avoid now only grow larger in the future. We all know how that works.”

  Julie BUTCHER