Mark Dolson
Board agrees to fill vacant Director seat via appointment – applications due April 28th.
The April 1st SLVWD Board meeting was fairly efficient and unremarkable. The Board voted 4-0 to use the appointment process to fill its current vacancy (created by the recent resignation of Director To) as soon as possible. The alternative solution would have been to wait until November to hold a special election; Director Fultz spoke in favor of this approach, but the other Board members, and various members of the public, all favored an appointment. Valley residents with relevant expertise, knowledge of and interest in Board activities, a demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively, and adequate time to devote to Board responsibilities (roughly 20 hours per week) are encouraged to apply by April 28th. The Board also received an update on the still-evolving proposed budget for the next two fiscal years (running from July through June). Water consumption is projected to remain essentially constant, but revenues should grow somewhat due to a previously approved rate increase and a proposed five-year fire-recovery surcharge. Headcount may expand from 35 to 36 if the District hires a Special Assistant to District Manager Rick Rogers to allow more projects to be completed along with some associated potential cost savings (from reduced reliance on consultants). There will still also be some inevitable increases in operating expenses, all of which were discussed during the meeting. In other business, the Board approved the final version of its previously-discussed follow-up letter to PG&E addressing deficiencies in the utility’s current fire-prevention practices. Multiple counties are submitting similar letters, but a letter from a water district may possibly attract increased attention.
