Santa Clara Valley Water District directors approved a 10 percent compensation increase that would allow the seven board members to receive more than $31,000 each in annual stipends Tuesday, at the same meeting in which they chose not to raise water rates and upbraided district staff over a report on travel and overtime expenses.
The board voted 4-3 in favor of increasing their compensation rate from $236.39 to $260.03 per meeting, for up to 10 meetings per month at the regular monthly meeting at district headquarters in San Jose.
District Board of Directors chairwoman Rosemary Kamei, vice chairman Sig Sanchez, and director Larry Wilson voted against the $23.64 per meeting raise, which applies to the 2009 calendar year and takes effect Jan. 1.
Sanchez requested to keep his compensation at the 2006 compensation rate of $225.13, as he did last year.
A public hearing was quickly opened and closed prior to the board's vote, as no one from the public was present to voice an opinion on the proposal. The only public correspondence received by the board regarding the pay increase, a proposal which had been advertised for several weeks prior to Tuesday's meeting, was an e-mail from a San Jose resident to the board's clerk.
"It makes a very bad impression when you ask for an increase while at the same time asking all residents to save ... water," said the e-mail from Hella Bluhm-Stieber, which was distributed with the board's public information packet.
If all seven board members attend at least 10 meetings each month in 2009, they will collectively receive $214,237.20 in compensation for the part-time position. That's $17,020.80 more than they would have received under the current per diem rate.
According to information presented at the meeting, California Water Code permits the board to give itself a pay increase of five percent per calendar year for cost of living increases. Because the directors decided to forego a five percent raise for 2008, they could have raised their 2009 pay by five or 10 percent, or they could have left it at the 2008 level on Tuesday.
From 2003 to 2007, the board increased their per diem pay five percent each year, raising the stipend from $185.22 to $236.39 in the five-year period, according to district spokeswoman Susan Siravo.
During the board's lunch break, Kamei, who represents the district that includes Morgan Hill and Gilroy, told The Times, "I have a philosophy that I don't do this for the compensation. I consider this a public service."
Sanchez, a Gilroy resident who was appointed to his director's seat by the county Board of Supervisors, said during the break that he has "consistently" voted against the annual option to raise directors' pay for several years.
"We should be setting an example for our customers," said Sanchez. "I'm not of the opinion that we are underpaid."
In addition to the per diem compensation, board members also receive medical, vision, dental, and life insurance, as well as mileage reimbursement. Siravo said the district pays a monthly average of $1,292.01 in premiums for board members' insurance plans.
Later in the meeting, board members chided the district's staff for authorizing certain costs for employees' travel and overtime expenses. A 30-page report detailing these expenditures for the first half of 2008 was presented to the board. The report showed that the district spent $454,070.64 in travel expenses -- including more than $98,000 in lodging and $25,000 in meals -- from Jan. 1 to June 30. During the same six months the district paid 293 employees a total of $847,557 in overtime wages -- an average of $2,892 per employee.
The water district has a total budget of $411 million for fiscal year 2008-2009, and employs 750 people.
Sanchez pointed out that the highest expenditure among travel costs was on registration fees for training sessions and conferences, most of which occurred within the state. Some of these trips were in Las Vegas, Nevada, and as far away as Tampa, Florida. The total cost for registration fees for training programs in the first six months of the year was $241,002.
"That's a lot of training," said Sanchez.
Staff and board members expect the travel and overtime report for the remainder of the year to be significantly lower, as the board took action in the fiscal year 2008-09 budget to reduce those costs. Specifically, Siravo said the board cut overtime by 50 percent for the current fiscal year, which began July 1.
Kamei criticized the staff for sending numerous employees to the biannual Association of California Water Agencies Conference (ACWA). The report lists two such conferences - one in November 2007 in Indian Wells, and one in May 2008 in Monterey.
"Some of these conferences are necessary, but some could be seen as optional," said Kamei. "In the future, maybe a few people could go (to the ACWA Conference) instead of a whole bunch of people."
At the same meeting, the board voted unanimously to leave water rates at their current level, as recommended by the district's staff. On June 9, the board voted to raise wholesale water rates for fiscal year 2008-09. The increase affected the district's nearly two million customers, and added an average of 69 cents to $1.55 to each household's monthly bill. Tuesday's vote was to take no action on a "mid-year adjustment" to water rates.
The board has been steeped in controversy in the past related to spending and hiring practices. Former CEO Stan Williams resigned after hiring then-director Greg Zlotnick for a $184,000-a-year-job without authorization from the board.
Santa Clara Valley Water District board directors' stipend
- 2005 $214.41
- 2006 225.13
- 2007 236.39
- 2008 236.39
- 2009 260.03
Santa Clara Valley Water District staff travel and overtime expenses
Jan. 1 to June 30, 2008
Travel: $454,070.64
Including:
Meals: 25,912.00
Lodging: 98,052.49
Airfare: 36,814.51
Parking: 10,891.79
Overtime: 847,557.00
Michael Moore Michael Moore covers county and law enforcement issues for the Morgan Hill Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106, ext. 202, or mmoore@morganhilltimes.com.
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