Water Water Everywhere

The Lake County Auditor has no enforcement power to compel the independent districts to submit their reports and/or to comply with any suggestions made concerning those reports.

Administrative costs are duplicated in the various independent water districts for budgets, payroll and technical support. The smaller districts have limited personnel and budgets so there are instances where there are no checks and balances for financial and administrative functions as documented in several outside audits.

The consolidation of various districts into 3 CSA’s in the Lake County Special Districts Department demonstrates that there is an infrastructure in place for consolidation of water districts through incorporation within the three utility areas.

The State of California and the federal government are reviewing initiating new testing and reporting of conditions for water used in households and agriculture. This may necessitate additional reporting and expenditures in the future.

Based on the petition to list the Clearlake Hitch on the Endangered Species List and the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s acceptance, additional laws and regulation governing the use of lake water will be in effect according to state officials. 2012-13

The committee calculates that with the consolidation of the ten independent districts under the county Special Districts Administration, there could be a savings of approximately $1.5 million annually. This estimate is based on budgets received from the districts, is only as valid as the information received and does not reflect any savings resulting from reduction of capital equipment and/or assignment of technical personnel.  Approximately 1% of the total annual budget of each independent district is for office service and supplies. Using that percentage, by consolidation, the savings from all districts could be $65,000 annually.  The elimination of the ten boards of directors could save $29,000 annually in salaries and expenses.  The elimination of administrative personnel in each district could save approximately $1,429,000 annually (this figure does not include the extra expenditures for employer federal and state payroll taxes and the employee benefits such as health insurance and retirement which typically amount to an additional 30% of the payroll).