Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors asked for more study on potential budget cuts Tuesday before deferring action until July. The board could resume discussion today. After several hours of discussion and 3 different motions yesterday, Director Terence Moore stormed out, saying the board should take action and was afraid to do its job. Moore said if they did not do a combination of recommendations by staff, they could lose 2 months of summer income that could be increased by a recommended 4 percent increase of rates in the Amador Water System. Moore said “I can’t believe you are still listening to these local gadflies who are always against the agency and never say anything positive.” Audience member David Evitt and Moore had a heated exchange, and Evitt and Ken Berry spoke against the rate increase and agency pursuit of the Gravity Supply Line. Vice President Debbie Dunn insisted staff look at a pipeline bond payment to see if it could change. President Bill Condrashoff sided with Dunn, and wanted to continue talking about options. Moore said the AWS system could have its rates raised because it was approved to do so in 2008 by the board, which only raised rates by 8 percent. The board could raise it another 4 percent. Moore said they were in error by not raising rates the entire amount. Dunn said she didn’t “feel like we made a mistake,” and pledged to protect ratepayers. General Manager Gene Mancebo said to correct the budget they would also need to make 4 to 6 layoffs. Employee negotiator Karen Gish said that without the 4 percent rate increase, the agency would need 6 to 8 layoffs to balance the budget. Finance Manager Mike Lee said the agency’s cash was at $500,000, and Mancebo said bluntly that cash problems mean “we are in trouble.” He said the budget took shape in the last week or so, as staff realized the rate increase in the Central Amador Water Project may fail. During public comment, Ken Berry said the AWA should expect 1,600 Proposition 218 protests at the CAWP rate hearing today (July 1st), though all of those might not be valid. Mancebo, Gish and Board Clerk Chris Thompson said the board should act now, and that department heads came together Monday, looked at numbers and found that 4 “full time equivalent” layoffs and the 4 percent rate increase would come $140,000 short. Mancebo said employee union negotiators had to know whether the rate hike was activated, and they “need to talk to bargaining units about putting a freeze on salaries and raises, which would almost equal the final $140,000 in cuts. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.-
font size
decrease font size
increase font size
Amador County – The Amador Water Agency board of directors asked for more study on potential budget cuts Tuesday before deferring action until July. The board could resume discussion today. After several hours of discussion and 3 different motions yesterday, Director Terence Moore stormed out, saying the board should take action and was afraid to do its job. Moore said if they did not do a combination of recommendations by staff, they could lose 2 months of summer income that could be increased by a recommended 4 percent increase of rates in the Amador Water System. Moore said “I can’t believe you are still listening to these local gadflies who are always against the agency and never say anything positive.” Audience member David Evitt and Moore had a heated exchange, and Evitt and Ken Berry spoke against the rate increase and agency pursuit of the Gravity Supply Line. Vice President Debbie Dunn insisted staff look at a pipeline bond payment to see if it could change. President Bill Condrashoff sided with Dunn, and wanted to continue talking about options. Moore said the AWS system could have its rates raised because it was approved to do so in 2008 by the board, which only raised rates by 8 percent. The board could raise it another 4 percent. Moore said they were in error by not raising rates the entire amount. Dunn said she didn’t “feel like we made a mistake,” and pledged to protect ratepayers. General Manager Gene Mancebo said to correct the budget they would also need to make 4 to 6 layoffs. Employee negotiator Karen Gish said that without the 4 percent rate increase, the agency would need 6 to 8 layoffs to balance the budget. Finance Manager Mike Lee said the agency’s cash was at $500,000, and Mancebo said bluntly that cash problems mean “we are in trouble.” He said the budget took shape in the last week or so, as staff realized the rate increase in the Central Amador Water Project may fail. During public comment, Ken Berry said the AWA should expect 1,600 Proposition 218 protests at the CAWP rate hearing today (July 1st), though all of those might not be valid. Mancebo, Gish and Board Clerk Chris Thompson said the board should act now, and that department heads came together Monday, looked at numbers and found that 4 “full time equivalent” layoffs and the 4 percent rate increase would come $140,000 short. Mancebo said employee union negotiators had to know whether the rate hike was activated, and they “need to talk to bargaining units about putting a freeze on salaries and raises, which would almost equal the final $140,000 in cuts. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Published in
News Archive
Latest from Tom
- Richard Forster previews this week's Amador County Board of Supervisors meeting with host, Tom Slivick. (2 of 2)
- Richard Forster on TSPN TV News December 7, 2015 (1 of 2)
- Ebbetts Pass (State Route 4) Closed for Winter
- State HWY 89 Closed for the Winter
- Richard Forster on TSPN TV News November 23, 2015 (2 of 2)
