HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-02 - Resolution No. 09-14
1
RESOLUTION NO. 09-14
' RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE YORBA LINDA WATER DISTRICT
IN SUPPORT OF THE MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT OF ORANGE COUNTY
AND IN OPPOSITION OF EFFORTS TO DIVIDE ORANGE COUNTY
INTO NORTH AND SOUTH WHOLESALE WATER AGENCIES
WHEREAS, Municipal Water District of Orange County (MWDOC) has been in
existence since 1951 and was formed by a vote of the people to provide
imported water from Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
(MET) into Orange County for the benefit of the residents and businesses
within the twenty eight Client Agencies of MWDOC; and
WHEREAS, MWDOC has been performing this function and many other functions
since its formation in support of the Client Agencies within the service
area; and
WHEREAS, MWDOC is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors; and
WHEREAS, MWDOC has operated with an efficient but effective budget that has
grown over time and now totals about $6 million per year; and
WHEREAS, the Coastal Municipal Water District of Orange County was merged into
' the Municipal Water District of Orange County in 2000 by action of LAFCO
because south county agencies wanted a more proactive, unified and
countywide agency that provided effective services to each Client Agency;
and
WHEREAS, the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) is
currently completing a Governance Study for Municipal Water District of
Orange County (MWDOC); and
WHEREAS, a vocal minority of MWDOC Client Agencies in south Orange County are
attempting to utilize this process to facilitate dividing MWDOC into north
and south entities; and
WHEREAS, the creation of a separate south Orange County water agency would
fracture and dilute Orange County's position competing within the MET
family as the 2nd or 3rd largest MET member agency and would reduce
MWDOC's influence as a member agency of MET in ensuring that the
$140 million paid to MET each year is used efficiently, thereby costing
Orange County consumers more money in the form of higher water rates;
and
Resolution No. 09-14 Supporting MWDOC 1
WHEREAS, MWDOC has been very effective at bringing outside funds into Orange
' County to keep MWDOC's budget low and to help fund Water Use
Efficiency measures by MWDOC's Client Agencies ($33 million over the
past eight years) and other activities ($12 million for reliability and
emergency preparedness activities and $44 million in Local Resources
funding from MET - for a grand total of $89 million over the past eight
years, funding which is not included or accounted for in MWDOC's base
operations budget of $6 million per year); and
WHEREAS, formation of an additional wholesale district would result in inefficiencies
and additional expenses not only for the southern service area but also for
the successor northern service area, through duplication of services
including engineering and planning, MET issue analysis, finance and
accounting, building leases, legal services and administrative and clerical
support; and
WHEREAS, the creation of a second agency would increase combined costs by an
estimated $2 million per year over MWDOC's existing budget and would
require a costly election of the public to pursue (estimated at $1.5 million);
and
WHEREAS, the proposed division of MWDOC would result in the imposition of
' significantly higher water costs for the new south Orange County agency
because the growing agencies in this service territory will be subject to
purchases of more expensive Tier 2 water that MWDOC has previously
been able to mitigate for the south county agencies with its melded rate
structure; and
WHEREAS, the assertion by certain south Orange County districts that they are paying
more than their fair share of MWDOC's costs is not supported based on
recent statistics provided to the Client Agencies and LAFCO; and
WHEREAS, MWDOC operates effective programs in support of its Client Agencies,
including a Water Use Efficiency Program that saves 25,000 acre feet of
water per year and a School Education Program that in the last three fiscal
years reached 172,000 students, including 52,000 students in the area of
the proposed south Orange County agency; and
WHEREAS, MWDOC has organized and operates an effective Emergency
Management Program through the Water Emergency Response
Organization of Orange County (WEROC) that involves all water and
wastewater entities in the County; and
WHEREAS, an overwhelming majority of Orange County residents prefer to elect their
water directors, but a newly constituted south Orange County agency's
governing board would be comprised entirely of appointees.
Resolution No. 09-14 Supporting MWDOC 2
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Yorba Linda Water District hereby
' supports the current structure of wholesale water distribution within the MWDOC service
area and calls on LAFCO to also support this structure and to reject efforts by a minority
of agencies to pursue actions that cost all Orange County water agencies more money
and weakens our representation at MET. We furthermore call on Orange County's
water agency officials and other elected representatives to ensure that all MWDOC
Client Agencies be treated equitably, that minor differences be collaboratively
addressed, and that further discussion of dividing MWDOC be tabled.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 2nd day of September, 2009 by the following called vote:
AYES: Directors Armstrong, Beverage, Collett, Mills and Summerfield
NOES: None
ABSTAIN: Prone
ABSENT: None
hn W. Su me , resident
Yorba Linda Water District
ATTEST:
K VecchiareIli, Secretary
Yorba Linda Water District
Resolution No. 09-14 Supporting MWDOC 3