Amador County – The Amador Water Agency Board of Directors last week approved a new agency policy for adopting notice, hearing and protest procedures for compliance with the state Proposition 218 regarding sewer and water rate increases.

AWA General Manager Gene Mancebo said Proposition 218 contains nothing about sending a ballot out for protests of rate increases. The agency does not have to send out ballots, and “state law is just simply unclear on this.” He said a resolution approved Thursday sets AWA policy so rate payers get a letter explaining why rates are being increased. Mancebo said it improves citizen input and government accountability, and provides the agency with rules to follow as the agency complies with the California Constitution.

Some at the meeting indicated they did not support the change. One upcountry resident, Rich Farrington, said he liked the idea because it brought some consistency. Mancebo agreed, saying in at least prior rate increase AWA sent a ballot, but sometimes the agency did not send a ballot.

Mancebo said it sets the policy on what the Proposition 218 notification looks like, and assists residents with making a protest. He said: “It’s as simple as mailing it back to us if they want to protest.” The resolution sets forth a policy that specifies what the agency must do when rate increases are sought.

The resolution passed 4-0 with Director Don Cooper absent. The policy is not specific to Camanche and it would be used for all water and wastewater increases, and anything that is rate-based.

He said the agency is trying to implement programs to help ratepayers, including a test run on a monthly billing for some areas that previously had bi-monthly billing. They also are working on electronic billing and electronic payments programs.

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