Should the water flow from the city?
Periodically, the issue of converting the independent Yorba Linda Water District into a city department is aired, but invariably the discussion dies without significant action.
Planning to raise the matter again is City Councilman Hank Wedaa, who last asked the council to consider the subject in 1996.
Then, Wedaa’s proposal for the City Attorney to “prepare a report describing the process and steps needed if the city was to initiate a consolidation procedure” lost on a 3-2 vote.
Now, Wedaa says he’ll introduce a similar motion in a couple of months; but he has no idea if he can muster another two votes for a study he says should outline the pros and cons of consolidation.
“We don’t need two sets of government in Yorba Linda,” Wedaa said. “Costs could be reduced…It’ll take years to get it done—that’s one reason I’ll be seeking another term.”
Wedaa ran for a water board director position in 2000, after his seventh council term ended, placing fourth out of five candidates for two seats.
Formed in 1909 as a mutual company serving mostly farmers, the water district became a public agency in 1959 with a five-member, voter-selected board of directors.
Complicating consolidation is the district’s service area—23,390 water accounts in Yorba Linda, as well as parts of Anaheim, Brea, Placentia and county territory. City sewer lines are split between the water district (westside) and the city (east of Village Center Drive.)
The district’s supporters maintain the area needs a separate district that stays out of local politics and uses revenue only for water-related activities, not to fund other services.
Four directors and General Manager Mike Payne supported Keri Wilson over Wedaa and Victoria Gulickson in the June special election for a vacant council seat. Directors often back council candidates, but Payne’s endorsement was his first in a local council race.
Presumably, some of the savings Wedaa cites as a reason for consolidation would come from the 2007-08 budget totals of $59,500 in salaries, $4,650 in mandatory benefits and $22,100 in supplemental benefits for the five directors.
Of course, an ideal solution would be for the city and water district to co-fund a truly independent study of the advantages and disadvantages of consolidation and finally put the matter to rest, but that might be asking too much of government bureaucracy.
A FINAL NOTE
The city’s longest-serving commissioner and a colleague likely will be replaced before their Planning Commission terms end Dec. 31. Three City Council members want Carl Boznanski, appointed in 1980, and Mike Haack, named in 2002, to resign.
John Anderson, Jan Horton and Hank Wedaa appear ready to interview applicants for the two seats even if Boznanski and Haack don’t quit voluntarily. The council majority’s aim is to get the pair off the commission before new Town Center plans are discussed.
Anderson has stated he seeks “new members more in touch with the nature and character of Yorba Linda and who will treat residents and council members with more respect.”
Terms of the other three commissioners—Ron DiLuigi, Dennis Equitz and Jim Pickel—expire Dec. 31, 2009.
Planning to raise the matter again is City Councilman Hank Wedaa, who last asked the council to consider the subject in 1996.
Then, Wedaa’s proposal for the City Attorney to “prepare a report describing the process and steps needed if the city was to initiate a consolidation procedure” lost on a 3-2 vote.
Now, Wedaa says he’ll introduce a similar motion in a couple of months; but he has no idea if he can muster another two votes for a study he says should outline the pros and cons of consolidation.
“We don’t need two sets of government in Yorba Linda,” Wedaa said. “Costs could be reduced…It’ll take years to get it done—that’s one reason I’ll be seeking another term.”
Wedaa ran for a water board director position in 2000, after his seventh council term ended, placing fourth out of five candidates for two seats.
Formed in 1909 as a mutual company serving mostly farmers, the water district became a public agency in 1959 with a five-member, voter-selected board of directors.
Complicating consolidation is the district’s service area—23,390 water accounts in Yorba Linda, as well as parts of Anaheim, Brea, Placentia and county territory. City sewer lines are split between the water district (westside) and the city (east of Village Center Drive.)
The district’s supporters maintain the area needs a separate district that stays out of local politics and uses revenue only for water-related activities, not to fund other services.
Four directors and General Manager Mike Payne supported Keri Wilson over Wedaa and Victoria Gulickson in the June special election for a vacant council seat. Directors often back council candidates, but Payne’s endorsement was his first in a local council race.
Presumably, some of the savings Wedaa cites as a reason for consolidation would come from the 2007-08 budget totals of $59,500 in salaries, $4,650 in mandatory benefits and $22,100 in supplemental benefits for the five directors.
Of course, an ideal solution would be for the city and water district to co-fund a truly independent study of the advantages and disadvantages of consolidation and finally put the matter to rest, but that might be asking too much of government bureaucracy.
A FINAL NOTE
The city’s longest-serving commissioner and a colleague likely will be replaced before their Planning Commission terms end Dec. 31. Three City Council members want Carl Boznanski, appointed in 1980, and Mike Haack, named in 2002, to resign.
John Anderson, Jan Horton and Hank Wedaa appear ready to interview applicants for the two seats even if Boznanski and Haack don’t quit voluntarily. The council majority’s aim is to get the pair off the commission before new Town Center plans are discussed.
Anderson has stated he seeks “new members more in touch with the nature and character of Yorba Linda and who will treat residents and council members with more respect.”
Terms of the other three commissioners—Ron DiLuigi, Dennis Equitz and Jim Pickel—expire Dec. 31, 2009.
posted by Jim Drummond at 12:00 PM
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