“I don’t want to see a rate increase, but without a rate increase, I think we will go bankrupt,” Henry told about 35 members of the public during a May 7 meeting about the increase.
Henry, a former credit union CEO, has been poring over the district’s financial records since she was elected last November and is working with the board to steady the district’s budget.
The rate increase is a flat $15 every two months paid by each of the 500 water connections in the district. It will increase district revenues by an estimated $45,000 every year.
Before a reimbursement check for more than $53,000 arrived from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for repairs to Lake Boulevard, the district’s reserves had all but dried up. The district spent more than $58,000 on the Lake Boulevard repairs.
Because of a decrease in water sales, higher employee costs, the Lake Boulevard repairs and property tax money taken by the state, the district lost more than $171,000 in the past two years. The loss emptied the reserve and capital improvement bank accounts and left less than $1,000 in the general fund.
“Every board member for the last 15 years or so has kind of played a part in this thing,” board member Jane Wyckoff said at the meeting. “I think there’s a lot of commitment on this board to straighten out the problems we have.”
The board is taking a close look at each line item in the district’s budget.
In addition to the rate hike, the board is looking at cost-cutting measures, including examining how the district general manager is paid for overtime.
A more long-term issue is the financial hole the district seems to be in. Over the past decade, district general manager Mike Eggleston has accrued more than 100 days of paid vacation time, a significant liability for the cash-strapped district.
The district will have a public hearing at 7 p.m. June 8 at the Zayante Fire Station to decide on the increase. If more than half the parcels in the district file a complaint letter by that day, the board must nix the proposed rate hike.
The price of water
Average two-month water bill for a residential customer using 18 units of water (225 gallons per day.)
Lompico: With proposed $15 increase, $107.66
Scotts Valley: $106.49
San Lorenzo Valley: $84.72
City of Santa Cruz inside
city limits: $92.88
City of Santa Cruz outside city limits: $106.16
Soquel Creek: $104.38
Pajaro Valley: $98.01
Mount Hermon: $71.70
I've been watching the numbers and I predict this $7.00/month is not going to be enough. The governator is going to keep property tax revenue from the district again, just as he did a couple of years ago (when all this started). A couple times a year, LCWD gets a check from the State from property tax. That won't be happening any time soon now. This loss of revenue needs to be planned for, or we will be right back to ground zero.
These people need to get serious about a gradual increase yearly, to all rate tiers, as the other water districts are doing to protect the future. Remember folks, when something this critical is happening, you have to put people in charge who know what the hell they are doing.
Go to the meetings. 3rd Tuesday of each month, at the office, 7:00 pm. See for yourself. They can't even run a legal public meeting according to the Brown Act. These are the bumblers in charge of the finances of the district, folks. These same fumbling bumblers make public statements to the press that the employees are ripping the district off (President Rob Hansel), and the district is bankrupt (Lois Henry). Howz about a little class on public relations, folks? You say the wrong thing and it causes a ton of consternation within the district.
Next time, instead of interviewing these rookies, how about talking with the District Manager Michael Eggleston? He knows what to do. He's been saying it all along. Howz about the BOARD actually listening to him, instead of Lake Blvd. idiots with other motives?
Woe is me. What's it going to take to get and keep good people involved in this?
If an urgent merger with a larger district like SLV does not happen, will the County invoke some sort of emergency power and take over the district?
You cannot leave 500 homes without a solvent water district. Is someone going to act here?
Mr. Smallman, I demand you explain the videotaping of the water treatment facilities and the employees. NOW. Because, Mr. Smallman, I can see NO REASON WHATSOEVER for a board member, or their representative, to conduct this kind of illegal activity. I challenge you to face the music. NOW. I know you LLBRAs are reading these threads due to all the emails going around the canyon. ONE OF YOU BETTER STEP UP AND EXPLAIN THIS. I ASSURE YOU, IT WON'T GO AWAY. YOU CAN EITHER EXPLAIN IT HERE, OR AT THE NEXT MEETING, BUT YOU WILL BE CONFRONTED.
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS, FELLOW VOTING LOMPICANS?
Keep this thread running, please, Valley Press. You are on to a very big story. The first "Lompico water considers rate hike" brought out a whole bunch of info for the district to read. It's above - under "Similar Stories (26 days ago)".
Refer people to this website and tell them where to look. Look at BOTH articles because you don't want to lose what's in the first article.When it says "more comments", hit it and continue reading. There's some very pertinent stuff in there written by very informed people. It's a lot of reading, but it fully exposes these LLBRA people. If you get tired from just READING their high-jinx, then just imagine day after day having to deal with them in your face.
Don't be impatient - read through it all. Yeah it's a lot, but the LLBRA has done even more than this throughout the years. The only recourse the victims of LLBRA have is the exposure they are getting from the Valley Press.
We can't just SIT and DO NOTHING. There must be action. Rob Hansel running the water district? That's as bad as Sean Wharton thinking he can be the secretary. Don't let this happen, folks. This is our water district. We want it back.
What is ahead? This water district board will offer Mike a new manager’s contract, one that will be so bad, he will have to refuse it. Along the way, this Board will knowingly violate many labor laws. Upon Mike refusal, President Hansel would volunteer to save the day and run the Water district for us. This is the same guy who claims he holds a plumbers license, though his license was actually suspended in August 2008 for not paying his insurance bond. This is the same Rob Hansel that had an advertisement for his Plumbing business (you know the one that gave you a discount if you mentioned you are a Raiders fan) in the Press Banner. He ran his ad for months after his license suspension, using false advertising, and violating laws. Do you believe me? Below you will find the California Contractor’s Licensing Board web site address – click it, and look under ‘status.’ https://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicense/LicenseDetail.asp?LicNum=717488 Not being able to pay his insurance bond, is part of the reason he’s so interested in making as much money as he can through stipends from the Water District. What’s better than making a monthly stipend?? Mike’s salary and benefits…since he doesn’t even come close to this kind of income in his own Plumbing business.
So my fellow Lompicons, this is what we’ve got. We elected these mobsters to rule the district, don’t be surprised if one day you will be extorted to get the services that today we take for granted.
Can you imagine being at work and having someone show up with a camera to videotape and ENTRAP you into something? Can you imagine working under those circumstances? This infuriates me. This is harrassment, pure and simple. I want to know WHY this was done and WHO put her up to it. If she's been meeting with LLBRA members, then I guess we know the answer to that question.
If anyone sees her anywhere, ask her (I've only seen her once so wouldn't recognize her again), but I know she lives on the west side of the canyon. Demand to know why she is recording our water facilities. The employees have the right to a safe working environment, whether they are up at Lewis Treatment Plant, or in the office. This is intolerable. If I were that employee, I would march right down to the Sheriff's office and file a complaint.
And you are right - NOBODY should be filming anything at our water facilities. PERIOD. Every day I hear more and more stuff about these LLBRA people. None of it is good. We have GOT to do something, Lompicans.
Any ideas, Nacho Libre?
If you read other articles in the Valley Press ("Election Defeat Hits Local Jurisdictions Hard" listed above), you will see that ALL water districts are going to take a hit. I don't see any water district with the capital to expand their facilities by merging, in this current climate. SLV just expended a great deal of money in courts and otherwise to take over Felton's water. I could be wrong, but I watch very carefully. Everybody is hunkering down for the long haul.
This is our district; this is our problem. We need fiscal conservatives on the board who are concerned with the ENTIRE DISTRICT, not just Lower Lake Blvd. The current crew is severely handicapped because they are there at the bidding of Ed Freck. Believe me, this guy has a long, long history of trying to destroy the district and it's employees. It's really kind of SICK, if you take a step back and look at the entire history of it. There is something deep-seated, vengeful and very WRONG in the inner workings of this guy. The elevator doesn't go all the way to the top there.
If they spent less time trying to nail Michael, and more time LISTENING to what he is saying, they would have good information on what the district needs to survive. He's been there 20 years - they have been there 5 months.
Instead, we see Carmen Rodriguez following water district employees around during their workday with video cameras at the water treatment plants, her trusty video camera (did you buy that at Costco where you work as a clerk?) in Jane's face to catch Jane (specifically) doing something wrong at the meetings! We see illegal meetings at Carmen Rodrigues' house and Freck's houses, etc., plotting and planning what they are going to do next, with an unelected jerk pulling their strings. Freck is the man behind the curtain, folks. And these meetings are ILLEGAL.
At the break in the last board meeting, I saw Freck get into Mike's face and say something threatening. What was it? This guy & his sarcastic, mean-spirited wife need to be thrown out of the meetings or we will never be able to move forward. You cannot work with people like this.
This district needs to take care of this problem. We can handle it. But the problem cannot be cured by allowing these LLBRA people to continue with their illegal activities. It's our problem and we need to solve it. We can get nowhere forward - we are stuck in Ed Freck's past somewhere when the water district really pissed him off. The water district is under siege by this guy & he wont quit til he has his revenge from Michael and Jane, or anybody who stands with them.
The water district needs help from the community. Did you use your water today? Compliments of Michael Eggleston and Scott Harmon. With NO HELP from Ed Freck, Debra Lowen, Lois Henry, Bill Smallman, Rob Hansel, Bonnie Harris, and Carmen Rodriguez.
There might be some rate and tax savings due to the economy of scale. Bankruptcy might be avoided.
Zazoo will be showing appreciation this weekend so won't be around much. Just wanted to thank everyone who has been active in our own canyon shock & awe on the LLBRA gangstahs. We must keep up the fight, folks or our water district will be run by maniacs. You know the cast of characters now - they are exposed.
It is NOT time to quit now. The governator will definitely be keeping property taxes, since he didn't get his propositions. So we need this new revenue coming in from the small price raise. Im really beginning to believe $7.00 a month is NOT ENOUGH to make up for $80,000 loss that is coming without the tax revenues. These bozos on the board are too timid (they lack the necessary body parts) to do the necessary, albeit unpopular, thing. Or they are too stupid. Or both.
Lois, I know you are reading this. How about dropping all the illegal crap you have been doing and do something positive??? Remember your campaign statement said you had GRANT EXPERIENCE? How about channeling your hateful, vengeful energies into something good, like getting some grants for the district? It might actually help repair the damage you and your gangstahs have done to this district.
Please - all LLBRA aside - it is imperative that the rate increase pass. I greatly fear it is not enough. Wish there were effective leaders on the board who cared about the WATER DISTRICT. Jane excluded of course. She called this cash crisis years ago, together with Denise Bendori and Michael. Zazoo, you mean Michael the general manager the LLBRA want to fire? And Jane the board member Debra Lowen (Mrs. Ed Freck) demanded resign? Yeppers. The ones who care about the WATER DISTRICT and who can read a balance sheet.
How about considering a small increase EVERY YEAR for the next 5 years for all levels, or even just the top 3 tiers? I don't think our fearless leaders have thought this through much.
After all the illegal activities these folks have taken part in, we need to get them off the board FAST and get some people in who know what the hell they are doing. ASAP, folks. Now is not the time to stop. Believe me, the governator WILL keep the tax monies, for at least 2 years. That's $80,000. The stupid board is only going to generate $40,000 with this price raise. Then what???? Part of budgeting is PLANNING AHEAD FOR FUTURE, NOT JUST PUTTING OUT FIRES OF TODAY. DO YOU UNDERSTAND, LOIS, SMALLMAN, HANSEL? Let's move it, move it.
God bless our veterans and you too, Jane and Michael. You are steadfast veterans in the LLBRA war and it ain't over yet.
LET'S ROLL.
We are on to you. You can't come here and anonymously make statements and fool us into thinking you are NOT LLBRA but a concerned Lompican. Your concern for Lompico extends about the length of Lower Lake Blvd.
The time for you to feel a bit of pressure and paranoia, LLBRA, is NOW. You have been exposed.
Why do I bring up Lake Blvd? Your board members decided, illegally of course since it was never posted on any board agenda (The Brown Act), to spend about $5500 in redesigning the water main project on Lake Blvd. Again, why??? Especially since the water district has no money in their reserve account!! Their intention is to resubmit the new design to FEMA. Do you think that FEMA will approve attaching a water main, to a bridge that doesn’t meet county requirements and has no permit which is required by Law in Santa Cruz County??? The answer is NO. This is a great demonstration of stupidity on their parts, and biased decision making.
In order to hire another employee to replace Mike, or to even allow Mike to go on vacation, this person must be certified by the state t run a water plant. You can’t just take a day labor from Pro Build and have him run things. That works only on Lake Blvd projects at which Mr. Frech is the project manager/engineer.
Mike has accrued overtime for the last 10 years, a dumb decision by pervious boards… legal, but stupid. Mike worked very hard for every penny that’s owed to him, and should be paid. I have a surprise for you… he should be paid with interest. And if the Labor Board hears about it, I’m willing to bet Mike will be compensated accordingly.
The only people scamming around here is the LBRA henchman, who presented himself as being one of the water district employees to CalPERS. This is being investigated by the Sheriff. Director Henry is the other one, who used privileged information that is being looked into by the Santa Cruz County DA’s Office.
Director Tinyman (small-is-way-too-big-for-you –Smallman, played a big role in childish behavior of Board members. He was the one to complain about having personal issues with Director Wyckoff on the HR committee, yet he could work with her perfectly well on the Environmental Committee (because this has nothing to do with FIRING MIKE EGGLESTON. Being the stupid-pig-headed-guy that he is, Director Smallman will deny all this. Luckily for this community, we can help to remind him of what he said because the Board meetings are recorded. There is already a copy of this recording at the Santa Cruz County DA’s Office, so using your key will net help you this time Director Smallman.
And some parting words to ol’ Director Henry, in one of your Communist Board of Directors Manifestos you recommended against other Board members participating in committee meetings that they do not serve on. Your fear was that they might influence decisions in those committees with their body language. In that case, maybe you should consider not attending any meeting from now on, Director Henry? Everybody has noticed your body languge, facial expressions, and hand gestures towards Director Stupidman, President Hansel and the Frech’s.
You are a disgrace to this Board, quite obvious in your intention, and extremely unprofessional.
Have a great weekend.
Busted, Debra.
Lompican: LLBRA is critical to what is happening now. To eliminate them and their plans from the dialogue would cause grave harm to the district.
They loaded up the board and are now making policy. They are on a campaign to destroy Mike. They are very, very much part of the dialogue. Sorry if you can't see that. Give it time. They will reveal themselves to you. If you are smart, you will figure it out. Im not trying to split the district in two - Im trying to save the district from this GANG OF ROGUES. They are in power now and are doing stupid, stupid, illegal EXPENSIVE things.
I seriously doubt its a priority now-its only a political tool to get rid of the guy.
To make him out as a scam is outrageous. He has no control over how the board pays him. And he DOES dig in ditches at 3:00 a.m. and there AREN'T too many general managers who do. They are desk people. Mike is NOT. He's hands-on and can do (and has done) any task at the water district, including answering phones. And believe me, Lompico doesn't attract people - it is a deterrent. No slam - things are much better these days in the canyon, but NOBODY would put up with the Frecks. They would be down the road.
Lompico cannot compete with salaries & bennies in other districts where qualified people go to work because the salaries are quite higher & bennies unbelievable.
You are right - the boards years ago should have taken care of this. They did not take care of their valued employee. Sean Wharton could have passed the increase Jane and Denise knew were needed. He had a very ignorant, NARROW view of the job, the salaries, and how to run a district and stood in the way of increases that would have rectified the situation. ROB is filling his shoes very well.
Before the LLBRA SCAM and the governator keeping the tax revenues for 2 years, Mike had the reserves built up, the district was solid, had a good rating, bills were paid every 2 weeks. Things were run well. Even then, tho, he wasn't paid for his overtime. Who is scamming who?
Mike has to manage with what the board gives him. They have not helped him-they have harmed him. Now the chickens have come home to roost.
But don't make him the target. That is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
Part-time staff still has to be CERTIFIED. Certification means MORE MONEY. Its not that simple. Retired folks don't keep their testing & certifications current. Its illegal to run the district without the certifications. The state would shut it down immediately.
Its a lot more difficult and involved than it appears. Right now, LLBRA people are making Mike out as a demon. I submit to you that the opposite is the case and the light needs to shine on LLBRA and THEIR SCAM. I am dedicated to reverse the crap they put out. Been watching them for years and know their motives & operadi. There's a long, long paper trail. They LIE continually and have absolutely no credibility. If we don't watch and confront, they WILL destroy the district and its good employees.
Any woman who says she will lay down in front of the district trucks to stop the water main repairs is a few sandwiches short of a full picnic. Thats our LOIS HENRY!
the board should have taken action. I understand you have to be certified for the state requirements. Did they look at possibly trying to find someone part time, maybe retired but needs a little cash or ANY OTHER possibility! Lompico is off the beaten path a little but it's not that remote!
This is not an "us and them" thing to the rest of the community. As far as I'm concerned everyone on the current board (with maybe the exception of Bill Smallman) should get over themselves! We need leadership and smart decisions not based on personalities and emotions. Do the jobs you were elected for and put away the gosh darn personal agendas!