Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board voted last week to have its general manager look at the cost of having a consultant analyze the agency’s reorganization.

Retiring Director Terence Moore said they should let the general manager handle any staff reduction.

Moore said he was glad Director Debbie Dunn “in her 2 years’ experience on the board knows what the agency should look like because I’ve been on the board for 12 years and I don’t know what it should look like.”

He said “it’s all good and well to grandstand before an election,” but they should give the power of reorganization to General Manager Gene Mancebo, who can bring back recommendations in January, and “hopefully Debbie won’t be here to vote on it.”

Moore said “this has been the most dysfunctional board that I’ve ever sat on,” and he was glad he wouldn’t be coming back.

Dunn asked staff to put a date on the reorganization, and said staff should “bring information to justify” having an engineering department head presiding over three staff members. She suggested having no department head, and they all report to Mancebo.

President Bill Condrashoff suggested setting a number to meet with staff cuts, and Director Don Cooper said “that’s way too ambiguous.” Cooper said he would like to see direction coming from Mancebo on how to reorganize.

Cooper said “that is why the ad hoc committee was formed, to study the reorganization and make recommendations.” He said Dunn is “indicating that the board is to act like chief executive officers,” and she wants to build the agency “from the top down, instead of from the bottom up.”

Dunn asked: “Do we need the agency dictated by the general manager and we are here to give the rubber stamp?”

Mancebo said he took “offense to that,” and it was “important to not make decisions in a vacuum.” He said they can’t “eliminate positions without knowing the specific requirements of those positions,” and whether other employees can absorb that work.

He said “these managers are working managers,” and such changes might result in the need for contract labor at higher costs.

Condrashoff asked why there was a “big hoo-ha” about upper management.

Mancebo said engineering staff was lower than it was 15 years ago, and they can cut without concern of organizational structure, but if they want to look at services and bare bones necessities, they need to look at tasks.

The board voted 4-0 to have Mancebo look at the cost of having a consultant analyze agency structure, with Dunn not voting. Dunn said: “It makes no sense to me what we just did.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.