El Dorado County 2017-2018 Grand Jury Carrying the Work of the Grand Jury Forward Case 17-10 • June 30, 2018

Most agencies responded properly and met their timelines.

A few agencies either did not understand or did not adhere to the Penal Code requirements for responding to Grand Jury reports.

The CPAD response for report 2017-011 was not timely nor was it fully compliant with the Penal Code.

CPAD has not submitted an amended response to the Grand Jury for report 2017-011.

Employee compensation is too low for an agency this size, making recruitment and retention difficult. The Board lacks sufficient information to form an opinion on this finding.

The current staffing levels are insufficient, which impairs the District’s ability to operate efficiently. {CW043394.1} 10 El Dorado County 2017-2018 Grand Jury 4/20/2018 ATTACHMENT A The Board agrees with this finding.

The District cannot depend on new hookups and ratepayers to supplement revenues as population growth has slowed on the Divide, necessitating the need for the District to look internally for revenue. The Board agrees that the District needs to thoroughly evaluate revenue sources, including those other than connection fees and rates. However, the rates are the primary mechanism by which the District funds operations and capital improvements.

The Jury found no evidence that either the District Board or staff is “preparing the ground” with their customers for what may be steep increases in their bills. The Board agrees that at the time the Grand Jury investigation was performed, minimal work had been done on a new rate study. Since that time, the District has accomplished the following related to a new rate study:  Retained Rural Community Assistance Corporation (“RCAC”) to perform a rate study.  Held two public meetings of the District Finance Committee meeting to review the methodology and policy questions for the rate study.  Held one public Board meeting to review the methodology and policy questions for the rate study.  Additional public meetings will be held to educate the public before any Proposition 218 hearing. The five (5) recommendations from the Grand Jury Report are listed below with the Board responses in italics.