Santa Cruz County Grand Jury
• 2014-2015
San Lorenzo Valley Water District Time to Restore Trust between Voters and District 20132014 Santa Cruz County Grand
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 9 findings
F1
By assigning responsibility for district investments to the District Manager, the SLVWD Board of Directors improperly relinquished one of its major responsibilities.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The SLVWD Board should reclaim its financial oversight responsibility by rescinding Resolution 79 (198788). (F1, F2)
F2
SLVWD took no action to correct its imbalance of investment assets despite multiple years of external audit reports.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
The SLVWD Board should reclaim its financial oversight responsibility by rescinding Resolution 79 (198788). (F1, F2)
F3
Contrary to accepted practice, SLVWD was operating on a prior year’s budget eight months into its fiscal year.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
The Board should require that the District Manager provide a budget prior to the start of each fiscal year. (F3)
F4
Despite numerous complaints from ratepayers, SLVWD has failed to prioritize the replacement of leaking redwood tanks.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
SLVWD should provide ratepayers with a specific plan and schedule for replacing its remaining redwood tanks. (F4) 11
F5
For many years Board committees consisted of a quorum of Board members without being publicly announced as Board meetings.
Related Recommendations (1)
R5
The Board should publicly notice committee meetings as Board meetings when a quorum is present. (F5)
F6
The Board has violated its policy to conduct annual reviews of the District Manager.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Board should create standard criteria and follow its own requirement for annual evaluation of the District Manager. (F6, F7)
F7
The Board lacks consistent standards to evaluate the performance of the District Manager.
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
The Board should create standard criteria and follow its own requirement for annual evaluation of the District Manager. (F6, F7)
F8
SLVWD consistently fails to provide timely meeting minutes or post important information on the District’s website.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
SLVWD should post online all ordinances, resolutions, and minutes within a month of approval. It also should post online all current ordinances, resolutions referenced in current ordinances, and minutes for the last five years. (F8, F9)
F9
SLVWD makes it difficult for ratepayers to obtain public records from the District Office by requiring prior approval from the District Manager.
Related Recommendations (1)
R6
SLVWD should post online all ordinances, resolutions, and minutes within a month of approval. It also should post online all current ordinances, resolutions referenced in current ordinances, and minutes for the last five years. (F8, F9)