Score: +6
(6/4/0)
Sacramento County Grand Jury
• 2023-2024
Infighting and Turmoil Drown Florin County Water District
⚠️ 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
Members of the FCWD Board of Directors have limited understanding of their duties and bicker among themselves as well as with staff, resulting in mismanagement and little planning for the future. (R1, R2, R3)
Related Recommendations (4)
R1
FCWD Board members should adopt and ensure staff adhere to Policies and Procedures (e.g., operations, accounting, and human resources) based on the best-practice templates provided by FCWD legal counsel or those available from special district or local government associations, no later than December 31, 2024. (F1)
R2
FCWD management should establish a checklist by November 30, 2024, of all state-mandated training and forms required to be completed by Board members and staff, and document the completion dates. (F1)
R3
FCWD management should maintain a list of terms of office for all current members of the FCWD Board of Directors, including start and end of terms of office for each Board Member, no later than October 31, 2024. (F1)
R4
FCWD Board members and management should take advantage of membership in the California Special Districts Association and attend relevant training sessions by March 31, 2025. (F1, F2)
F2
FCWD management lacks professional executive experience in finance, water management, human resources, and climate change, so they are unprepared for the complexities of modern water district operations. (R4, R5, R6, R7)
Related Recommendations (4)
R4
FCWD Board members and management should take advantage of membership in the California Special Districts Association and attend relevant training sessions by March 31, 2025. (F1, F2)
R5
FCWD Board should adopt an employment contract for the general manager position that requires, but is not limited to: demonstrated ability in financial management and budgeting, personnel management, groundwater conservation, and water treatment operations, and the performance assessment of the Interim General Manager by October 31, 2024. (F2)
R6
FCWD management should engage with the Sacramento Central Groundwater Authority and the Regional Water Authority regarding local groundwater management projects no later than October 31, 2024. (F2)
R7
FCWD’s operating policies and procedures, including provisions to require construction plans be reviewed by a professional civil engineer, should be adopted by the Board by December 31, 2024. (F2)
F3
FCWD Board of Directors, management, and legal counsel downplay the appearance of impropriety posed by employees directly supervising close family members, which raises questions about the integrity of the District. (R8)
Related Recommendations (1)
R8
FCWD Board should establish human resource policies that address nepotism and lack of separation of duties between family members no later than December 31, 2024. (F3)
F4
The FCWD Board of Directors fails to address the problems and financial risks identified in the delayed four-year fiscal audit dated October 27, 2022, so the District remains financially vulnerable. (R9)
Related Recommendations (1)
R9
FCWD Board should review the four-year audit and management report presented in October 2022 and establish an action plan to address problems no later than December 31, 2024. (F4)
F5
Because the FCWD Board of Directors fails to initiate annual audits as required by law, FCWD is unable to ensure public money is accounted for and controls are in place to protect against misappropriation and misuse. (R10)
Related Recommendations (1)
R10
FCWD Board should ensure that audits for Fiscal Years 2021/2022 and 2022/2023, are completed no later than December 31, 2024, and arrange that future annual audits are completed of the end of each fiscal year. (F5)
F6
The FCWD Board of Directors’ disagreement about the salary increase given by the former General Manager only to himself, the Office Manager, and Superintendent (all close family members) contributes to Board conflict and paralysis. (R11)
Related Recommendations (1)
R11
FCWD Board should require budgets include a schedule that lists by job title all actual and budgeted positions and salaries starting with Fiscal Year 2025/2026. (F6)
F7
FCWD does not provide an adequate source of information about water operations and governance because its website is rudimentary and the only regular contact with ratepayers is the monthly bill, resulting in an uninformed customer base. (R12, R13)
Related Recommendations (2)
R12
FCWD management should add key documents to the FCWD website by the dates below. (F7) • Adopted policies and procedures, by December 31, 2024. (see R1) • Terms of office for current members of the FCWD Board of Directors, including start and end of terms of office for each Board Member, by October 31, 2024. (see R3) • The action plan developed to address the deficiencies identified in the four- year audit and management report presented in October 2022, by December 31, 2024. (see R9) • Audited Financial Statements with accompanying Management Reports, within two months of delivery to the Board. (see R10)
R13
FCWD management should update and maintain the FCWD website for ease of use by all, no later than March 31, 2025. (F7)
F8
Flat revenue and growing major expenses, including water meter installation and aging infrastructure replacement, threaten FCWD’s financial viability. (R14)
Related Recommendations (1)
R14
FCWD Board should study the need to implement a rate increase, with the first step being the creation of a five-year capital improvement plan, no later than November 30, 2024. (F8)
F9
Without a LAFCo review, FCWD has not benefited from an outside evaluation that would address governance, service capacity, infrastructure, and efficiencies. (R15)
Related Recommendations (1)
R15
A Municipal Service Review should be performed by LAFCo to study and analyze information about the District’s governance structure, service capacity, infrastructure, and efficiencies, by March 31, 2025. The Grand Jury also recommends that FCWD fully cooperate with LAFCo. (F9)
Conclusions 1
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CL1 Page 9The Board and management of FCWD face immense challenges of governance, operations, and long-term planning. Customers and ratepayers are generally unaware of the District’s dysfunction and its problems. While the water continues to flow for now, FCWD is not prepared for the future.
Agency Responses 3
Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.