Director cites reasons for resigning, shares thoughts with successor, public
Guest Commentary
By Arnie Cares
I have resigned as director on the Ramona Municipal Water District Board. I apologize to the Board who appointed me and to the ratepayers, especially those of Division III who I represented.
My reasons are basic — respect for me as a director, for me personally, and for my ideas. The board gave me that respect, General Manager Barnum did not. I do not report to Mr. Barnum, nor to the board, but to the ratepayers.
I’m a volunteer, as are all the directors (compensation is nominal). I’m also 72. Life is too short. I will not hit my head against a brick wall for another 21 months.
I would like my successor to have the benefit of my comments, for whatever they’re worth. He or she will be the fourth person in less than two and a half years to represent Division III, so I hope these comments will help set expectations:
• I believe the board of a public agency has three responsibilities: 1) oversight and governance; 2) setting policy; and 3) determining strategic direction and approving its strategic plan. For me, the board is strong on setting policy. Suggest anything that borders on oversight, governance and strategic planning, however, then expect resistance.
• I often heard the obvious — RMWD is a public agency — but said in a way that for me was an excuse. For a board member, a fiduciary responsibility is a fiduciary responsibility, whether the organization is a Fortune 100 company or a $40 million public agency. Yes, some of the rules may be more burdensome for a public agency, but too often those rules are hidden behind and used as an excuse for the “we-can’t-do-that” mentality. Many ways exist to think “outside the box” without compromising the rules and regulations that bureaucrats so dearly cherish.
• I also often heard that if staff recommends it, that’s good enough. Too many boards have failed their fiduciary responsibility by following that advice. Creative or constructive tension between management and boards is healthy.
• On a positive note, RMWD Operations Staff — Johnny Breen, Jim Anderson, Jose Cortez, to name just a few — are first rate. They do the heavy lifting at RMWD, and do a terrific job of it. Same goes for the Cal Fire folks. Thanks, guys.
In my short time on the board, I tried to meet my responsibilities as I saw them. Here are some of the issues that seemed to upset Mr. Barnum.
Strategic Plan. RMWD has none. When I suggested that one be done, the answer was that no district (in San Diego County) does one. In fact, Otay Water District does one, and updates it regularly. And, now, I’m told that RMWD will in fact do one. Progress!
General Manager’s Report. The board should function at a high level and not mire itself in minutia. And yet, the board receives each month a 52-page listing of some 2,800 payments made to suppliers and others. To allow the board to more effectively fulfill Board responsibilities, I had suggested that a one page (or even one paragraph!) executive summary highlighting key issues and action items might be more beneficial to the board than a detailed accounts payable listing (is that not minutia?). Mr. Barnum decided that this was a waste of his time and refused to discuss it. Never mind, by the way, that general managers of virtually every other mid- to large-sized organization do this for their boards so that they can focus on the big items. Otay Water District’s general manager does a seven page executive summary for its board. Yes, that district is more than twice the size of RMWD, so I would not expect seven pages, but even five bullets is a waste of Mr. Barnum’s time? I think not.
Truck. I did not understand the need for the district to spend $110,000 on a brand new top-of-the-line truck. Despite unanimous agreement at the January meeting that staff had failed to make its case for approval, Mr. Barnum came back at the next board meeting with essentially the same agenda memo, claiming that the board’s direction was not clear. With additional information, the board approved the truck (which if I had it to do over, I would have voted no). It seemed to me that, for staff, following an administrative procedure was more important than saving the ratepayers money. A used truck at a fraction of the cost of a new truck was good enough for the Lakeside Water District, but not good enough for Ramona? I think not.
Legal Counsel. For the legal counsel vacancy, staff only presented to the Board three of the eight candidates. Why? The board chooses legal counsel, not staff. When I asked who the other five candidates were, Mr. Barnum simply handed me the eight proposals and told me to look for myself! To my knowledge, the other four directors still do not know who the other five candidates are.
Information Technology (IT) Conversion. To provide oversight over the critical upgrade to new IT systems, I asked the board to establish an Ad Hoc Committee. This is a critical project affecting ratepayers, end-users, suppliers and employees, yet this project is at the bottom of Mr. Barnum’s list of priorities! Scary.
Email Address. For public agencies like RMWD, responsibilities need to be exercised with transparency. To improve that transparency, I asked the board to allow me to set up my own email address as Division III representative to whom anyone could write. As a compromise, I reluctantly agreed to have RMWD add “Board of Directors” to the drop-down menu on its website, rather than an email address not channeled through the RMWD website.
Despite board approval, despite support from the Sentinel — its editorial staff and some of its readers — and, most importantly, despite just one email having been received by the new system (hardly a time-consumer for staff), Mr. Barnum just cannot let this one go, claiming it will prevent him from getting anything done this year!
New Idea. Had I stayed on the board, I would have proposed shared services and consolidation, both of which could result in substantial savings for the ratepayers. RMWD is among the smaller districts in San Diego County, and already outsources engineering and legal services. Why not outsource administrative services? Economies of scale bring costs down dramatically. Fallbrook and Rainbow water districts did something similar and saved a million dollars. Similar savings could be realized for Ramona, but the board would need to authorize funds for a feasibility study to determine the exact level of savings. Eventually, RMWD could be brought in under the umbrella of another district (Poway, for example). Does San Diego County really need 24 districts?
Mr. Barnum has made a federal case out of an email address. Can you imagine what he would do with this idea?
Final thoughts:
• I believe my suggestions fulfill the board responsibilities outlined above. Others say they are micromanaging and minutia. Ratepayers can draw their own conclusions.
• I have heard Mr. Barnum say “the press is not your friend.” He might not agree with their reporting or opinions, or those of their readers. That’s his problem.
• Mr. Barnum blames me for everything except the drought (why not that, too?). I will not tolerate that. No, Mr. Barnum, I’m not the problem. You are.
• I have had a 42-year career in business — both for-profit and not-for-profit. I know what I am doing. I am concerned about what goes on in Ramona, I thought I could make a difference (which I have done in just two meetings!), but I realize that to continue long-term with the fierce resistance to each and every idea that I bring forward is simply not worth it. I wish my successor the best of luck!
In December, Arnie Cares was appointed to fill the Division III seat on the Ramona Municipal Water District Board after former director Rex Schildhouse resigned in early November.