The water district’s board of directors will decide whether or
not to raise their collective annual reimbursement by about
$10,920, bringing their maximum annual per diem stipend to about
$229,000, not including benefits.
The water district’s board of directors will decide whether or not to raise their collective annual reimbursement by about $10,920, bringing their maximum annual per diem stipend to about $229,000, not including benefits.
The Oct. 13 public hearing to consider the 5 percent raise for 2010 comes during an ongoing economic downturn, when the Santa Clara Valley Water District faces declining revenues from property taxes and water rates.
By state law, the water district board of directors is permitted to increase members’ compensation by 5 percent each year for the meetings they attend in order to administer the agency’s role as a wholesale water provider, flood controller, and groundwater manager.
The pay raise is meant to compensate for corresponding cost of living expenses from year to year.
Currently, six of the directors receive $260.03 per meeting, for up to 10 meetings per month. As directors typically attend at least 10 meetings per month, each annual stipend for 2009 will add up to about $31,200.
Board Chairman Sig Sanchez has elected to freeze his compensation at $225.13 per meeting since 2006, bringing his reimbursement for the part-time job to about $27,000. Sanchez has repeatedly stated that he doesn’t think the directors are underpaid, and he will vote against the per diem raise at the upcoming meeting.
“I think the pay we’ve been receiving is adequate,” said Sanchez, a Gilroy resident who has been a water district director since 1980. “The way the economy is, we have to be as conscious of it as anybody else. We’ve been cutting programs, and I think the board should show the same attitude.”
He said the total per diem compensation for the directors is not a lot of money compared to the district’s total budget of $305 million. But the directors, who determine how that money is spent each year, should set an example, Sanchez said.
Water district directors consider giving themselves a 5 percent raise every year about this time. Most years in the recent past they have voted in favor of the raise. An exception was in 2007, when the board rejected a proposed raise of their $236.39 per diem stipend for the 2008 calendar year. However, because they forewent a raise the previous year, the directors gave themselves a 10 percent raise for the 2009 calendar year.
The board approved the 2009 raise on a 4-3 decision, with directors Sanchez, Rosemary Kamei, and Larry Wilson voting no.
Kamei, who represents the South County district, noted that she has never voted in favor of the per diem raise.
“This is something I don’t do for the money, because I am committed to the work of the district,” Kamei said Thursday.
San Martin resident and longtime water district critic Bob Cerruti said based on the current state of the economy, recent Santa Clara County Grand Jury findings of wasteful spending in the district, and a superior court ruling in April that found the district has consistently violated state law in setting water rates, the directors should not give themselves a raise.
“They don’t deserve it,” Cerruti said.
In addition to the per diem stipend, directors are reimbursed for mileage expenses to and from meetings, and are eligible for insurance benefits funded by the district. The district pays a monthly average of $1,216.38 in premiums for board members’ health, vision, dental and life insurance plans, plus $.55 per mile, according to district spokeswoman Susan Siravo.
Earlier this year, the district adopted a budget that did not raise South County groundwater rates for the first time in eight years. The total budget was cut by more than $100 million from last year. Most of the cuts in the current budget are in the district’s water utility fund, and are largely related to the postponement of certain projects and maintenance of infrastructure.
The county’s 1.7 million residents depend on the district for drinking water supplies.
The public hearing in which the board will consider a pay raise for 2010 will take place 10 a.m. Oct. 13 at water district headquarters, 5700 Almaden Expressway in San Jose.
Water District Board Meeting
What: Consider board of director’s pay raise
When: 10 a.m. Oct. 13
Where: Water district headquarters, 5700 Almaden Expressway, San Jose.
