Excessive Director Compensation

By Joseph C. "Joe" Reichenberger

The newspapers are full of accounts of Water District Directors receiving excessive compensation for attending meetings and running up huge expenses at the public's expense. I don't believe in this. This is "community service." This is not a full time job. My record proves it.

Director "per diem" compensation varies from agency to agency. In some cases the compensation is over $200 per day of service with automatic Consumer Price Index (CPI) adjustments annually. Fortunately state statutes limit the compensation to 10 days of service per month. Many Boards establish committees which meet regularly and some Board members decide it is important to attend the meetings of nearby agencies all with the intent of driving up the monthly compensation. If a Director attends 10 meetings per month, the ratepayers are looking at compensating him/her $2000 per month or $24,000 in a year! This is outlandish. Granted not many Directors actually "max" out; but even so, this is a lot of money. I don't believe in this. Director "per diem" compensation for San Gabriel Valley MWD meetings and representing the District is $175 per day of service. I only take $100 per day of service because that is what it was when I joined the board. I also do not take per diem compensation for attending conferences, even though I am entitled to it. I am not on the Board as a primary money making position. I have a full time job teaching and a part time job consulting. Serving on the San Gabriel MWD Board is community service to me. The San Gabriel Valley MWD used to have 2 meetings per month; the Directors, including myself, decided that one meeting per month is adequate for the District's business.

Some agencies provide "car allowances" and "agency furnished cell phones and blackberries" to their directors. Why? I don't believe in this either. I have my own cell phone and I don't request reimbursement for phone charges. My mileage reimbursement while on District business is at the federal IRS rate.

I am proud of my record and the cost savings I pass on to our customers.