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CENTRAL BASIN INITIATES PROCESS FOR APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS

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Staff Report

Commerce, CA – With a call for nominations, Central Basin Municipal Water District has initiated the process of expanding its Board of Directors from a five to an eight-member board. The expanded board will include five publicly elected directors and three appointed directors selected by water purveyors from the District’s service area.

The appointed directors will be selected from three categories: large water users, city users and an at large member. Large water users are the top five purveyors determined by the total acre-feet of potable and recycled water purchased. City users are those within the District’s service area who operate a public water system. The at large member category will be open to all purveyors within the District’s 227 square-mile service area. Votes for this category will be weighed by number of service connections.

The change to the Board’s structure is part of Assembly Bill 1794, authored by Assembly Member Cristina Garcia. Governor Jerry Brown signed the legislation and a companion bill, Senate Bill 953 by Senator Ricardo Lara, into law last fall. Senate Bill 953 codifies contract management policies the District currently has in place. The bills were a result of a State Audit.

“Throughout the process, Central Basin has been working cooperatively with the purveyor community and the Office of Assembly Member Garcia,” said Central Basin Board President Robert Apodaca. “The District is committed to conducting the appointment process in a transparent manner.”

Candidates are required to meet certain qualifications, such as holding five years of technical experience on a public water system, and may not hold an elected office nor own more than 0.5% of a private company. Appointed directors will also be limited to serving no more than one consecutive term.

Nomination ballots are due back to the District by January 24th and will be opened during a Purveyor Workshop the following day.

Following the opening of nomination ballots, the District will mail voting ballots on January 30th with a due date of February 21st.

Results are scheduled to be opened on February 22nd during a Special Purveyor Workshop.