CCWD candidates share goals, but not approach

By Stephen Crane | Posted: Friday, October 17, 2014 

Calaveras Enterprise

Neither candidate running for the director’s seat in Division 2 of the Calaveras County Water District – which includes Mokelumne Hill, San Andreas, Valley Springs and Burson – had much experience with water issues prior to seeking the position.

Incumbent Scott Ratterman was appointed to the position in July 2011 and he’s clearly learned a lot since that time.

“I’ve learned how valuable (water) is as a commodity and a resource, and how important it is to maintain its quality and availability,” the San Andreas resident said. “I’ve learned a lot more about the complexity of water systems and wastewater systems.”

But his reason for seeking the appointment wasn’t necessarily water.

“I’ve always been involved in things going on in my community, and I wanted to be an active participant,” Ratterman said. “That was my main goal.”

Mike Dell’Orto, who hails from Mokelumne Hill, is driven by that same desire for community involvement, and his resume is packed full of positions and titles he’s held in a wide spectrum of organizations in Calaveras County. However, that same resume is light on water issues and agencies, but he felt now was the time to take the plunge.

“I’ve had a concern for CCWD for years and an interest in getting them to move forward on our water rights, which are at risk,” Dell’Orto said.

Over the years, he never felt the timing was right.

“There wasn’t a board that you could fit into and get something done. But now, it looks like a potential major change on the board,” he said, alluding to the fact that four of the five director positions are up for election this year.

The top priority for Dell’Orto, were he elected, is to secure the water rights the county has in place.

“We have the right to get it if we can take it, hold it, use it,” he said. “Water’s in demand right now and has been for a long time, and we’re faced with really big players. We’re kind of like tiny voices in a big, big place.”

Ratterman has gotten an inside view on the water rights in place here in Calaveras, and he cited the recent water bond that will be on this year’s ballot as an important step in protecting the state’s water supply, and thus, the water rights of Calaveras County.

“Additional storage in California is very, very important,” he said. “We have three rivers that flow through our county, and there’s an abundance of water here.”

But at the end of the day, “we are the mercy of the state board,” Ratterman conceded, referring to the California Water Resources Control Board. He noted the board’s move in June to temporarily suspend junior water rights due to the drought.

While it’s still some years down the road, he pointed to the relicensing of the North Fork Project on the Stanislaus River as an important step in ensuring the county’s water interests are protected. CCWD owns the power generation sites that are run by the Northern California Power Agency, which receives most of the benefits from it, Ratterman said.

“They are collecting millions. We are collecting pennies,” he said.

“We want to make sure that is being looked at and worked on and not set aside,” Ratterman said. “It’s time to be preparing for it and looking at it.”

In the meantime, Ratterman would like to find new ways for the water district to generate revenue, citing water sales to outside agencies as the “big one” and hydroelectric projects as another potential way for the district to make money.

Dell’Orto, however, questions the current board’s effectiveness.

“My impression is that the board has been rather arrogant,” he said, citing the lack of collaboration with other utility districts in the county and beyond. “Way back when the district was formed, (utility districts in the county) thought (CCWD) would be the ones to lead the charge of protecting our water rights, and it appears they haven’t done well on that.

“They all pay taxes, of which a part of the taxes go to CCWD. … I think they need to consider what services they are providing for that tax money.”

Ratterman acknowledged that CCWD hasn’t always managed its assets well, but he’s seen a different tone since joining the board in 2011.

“History is history,” he said. “I’m not a historian and gone that far back with CCWD, but I have heard of some stupid things they’ve done. … But there’s nothing that fits into that category anymore; it’s been taken care of; It’s been rectified and addressed.”

Ratterman said that despite the improved condition he’s seen during his time with the water district, the public perception somehow persists that CCWD is poorly run. That perception was in full view last summer, when the water district voted to increase its rates for water and sewer amid strenuous public outcry.

Both candidates readily admit that much of CCWD’s infrastructure was in need of repair and upgrade, but the magnitude of the rate hike is still in dispute.

“With the problems we’ve had with the district and the breakdowns, that’s being addressed now,” Ratterman said. “One of the great things that came from the rate increase or in conjunction with it, we put together a capital improvement fund, which guarantees all new money goes into the fund and can’t be used for anything else. That’s very positive.”

But Dell’Orto questions the very payment structure of those improvements, wondering if the amount of the increase was even necessary.

“You have to pay for your services,” he said. “But I think the thing they need to look at is, what unit of time are they looking to pay for the infrastructure? … Infrastructure, it’s usually multiple people and more in the future. I don’t know that you have to pay it off as quick as you can.”

Dell’Orto would have preferred a lower rate that stretched payments over a longer period “so the people coming in are paying for it as well.”

The rate hike was implemented while former General Manager Mitch Dion was still at the helm, but he has since been fired by the board, which is now looking to hire a new general manager. The current board is holding interviews and hoping to hire a new manager before any new directors take their seat on the board, which doesn’t sit well with Dell’Orto.

“I think it’s unwise for two reasons,” he said. “One, the new board members may not be pleased with the selection. Two, the candidates (for general manager) may look at that and say, ‘How many GMs have they gone through in the last eight years? And I’m going to have a whole new board a month after I go to work?’ … They don’t need to be in a constant state of turmoil.”

But Ratterman insists that he was appointed to the board to do a job, and hiring a new general manager is a part of the job description.

“This is a pressing issue within the district that I personally feel is something that I would rather not saddle the next board with,” he said. “I do not think waiting for the next board to be set is what we were hired to do.”

The applications have already come in, the interviews will soon take place, and Ratterman is optimistic about the process.

“There are some excellent, highly paid, highly credentialed people who have already applied for the job,” he said, adding that he would “absolutely seek input from the incoming” directors if the hiring decision were to come after the election but before the new directors were officially put in place.

Dell’Orto hopes that regardless of academic degrees and areas of study, the person is qualified for the job.

“For me, a general manager would be somebody who’s skilled at business management and people,” he said. “And that is usually a hard qualification to meet if you are an engineer or an accountant.”