Orange County Grand Jury Compensation Survey of Water and Sanitation Districts Released

The Orange County Grand Jury has released its "COMPENSATION SURVEY OF ORANGE COUNTY WATER AND SANITATION DISTRICTS". Although the study makes no great revelation, it does suggest that these special districts may be too far removed from the hands of the constituents they serve.

Why the Grand Jury Study:
Special districts are not well understood by the public
Receive little public scrutiny

Special Water/Sanitation Districts Serving Fullerton:
Municipal Water District of Orange County
(Water only)

The District is a wholesale water management and planning agency that provides imported water to 28 water purveyors and two private water companies in a service area of over 600 square miles. These smaller entities then provide the water to residential and commercial customers. In 2001 the District consolidated with Coastal Municipal Water District of Southern California. It is the second largest member agency of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the agency that supplies Southern California with the majority of its imported water. It coordinates countywide water/wastewater emergency preparedness and response efforts.

Orange County Sanitation District
(Sewer only)
The District provides wastewater services for much of Orange County. Its boundaries cover 479 square miles, serving 21 cities and three special districts. The District has two operating facilities, one in Fountain
Valley, the other in Huntington Beach, treating wastewater from residential, commercial and industrial sources in central and northwest Orange County. Each day approximately 230 million gallons of wastewater is treated, enough water to fill Angel Stadium three times a day.

The 25 members of the District’s board of directors consist of elected representatives from each of the sewer agencies or cities within the Orange County Sanitation District. Thus the board members of the District are not elected directly, but are appointed by their respective agencies.

Orange County Water District
(Water only)
Despite its name, the Orange County Water District is not a water provider in the usually understood sense. Its function is to manage the underground water in Orange County, called the aquifer. Agencies pumping water from the ground in Orange County are regulated and charged by this district. The Orange County Water District also operates the Groundwater Replenishment System, a state of the art plant in Fountain Valley that purifies wastewater and injects it back into the ground for reuse.

The board of directors for this district is a hybrid of elected and appointed officials. Of the 10 board members, 7 are elected from defined service areas within the district, and 3 are appointed representatives of
the cities of Fullerton, Anaheim and Santa Ana.

Findings:
Lack of interest by the public
Some districts offer board members fulltime benefits for part-time work
Suggests minimum standards for information access on district websites

Facts:
Combined total annual revenues for the 18 water and sanitation special districts in Orange County exceed $1.3 billion.

California state law defines a special district as “any agency of the state for the local performance of governmental or proprietary functions within limited boundaries (Government Code Section 16271 (d)).

Compensation for the board of directors of water districts must be set in accordance with the California Water Code Section 20202 and for the board of directors of Sanitation Districts, in accordance with the Health and Safety Code, Section 6489.

Board of director meeting stipends for water and sanitation special districts are capped by the state. Other compensation packages for the board of directors and the general manager are set by the board of directors in each district.

Elected or appointed officers of a special district, commission or board elected or appointed after June 30, 1994 are prohibited from participating in the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS).

Recommendations:
Provide in an easily accessible format on the district’s website, data on compensation for the board of directors and general manager, as well as current budget and financial reports.
Maintain and update agendas, minutes, meeting schedules and location on the district’s website.