Goals if Elected

By H. Jay Kerr

Cost control and absolutely NO tax rate increases Pension reform Maintain high standard of service

Unfortunately, I believe that the ratepayers of CCCSD are paying far more than they should for these services. The average residential ratepayer in CCCSD pays $311 annually. A motion to raise these rates by more than 5% was narrowly defeated (3-2 vote) at the Board meeting on June 17, 2010. In their August newsletter, the CCCSD management states that their fees are less than most other sanitation districts in the region. What they fail to point out is that many other districts are forced to collect additional fees charged by local municipalities for unrelated services, ie., unrelated public works. My father has served on the Board of the Oro Loma Sanitary District in San Lorenzo, CA, for 20+ years so I am very familiar with their rate structure and services. I offer the following comparisons:

Oro Loma Sanitary District (OLSD) currently charges $178 per household. Over the last 20 years, OLSD has:

1. Increased capacity
2. Provided innovative, environmentally sound wastewater treatment
3. Maintained an excellent safety record
4. Provided exemplary customer service
5. Met all government regulations
6. REDUCED PAYROLL
7. CREATED LARGE CASH RESERVES
8. PAID OFF ALL DEBT
(Source: http://www.oroloma.org)

Central Contra Costa Sanitary District (CCCSD) currently charges $311* per household. Over the last 20 years, CCCSD has:

1. Increased capacity
2. Provided innovative, environmentally sound wastewater treatment
3. Maintained an excellent safety record
4. Provided exemplary customer service
5. Met all government regulations
6. INCREASED PAYROLL MARKEDLY
7. Maintained adequate cash reserves
8. INCURRED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN BONDED DEBT
(Source: http://www.centralsan.org)

• Note that $311 includes $15 for Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) disposal

Another major issue facing CCCSD is the cost of excessive pension packages provided in recent years (see Contra Costa Times, 12/27/09). Pension reform is of paramount importance. The current packages and egregious pension "spiking" are simply not sustainable and will clearly impact the long-term financial health of our District. Legislative changes to correct inequities in the retirement system will help. The issue must also be handled in labor negotiations due to happen at CCCSD in the next few years. I would strive to fairly compensate our extraordinary staff while protecting the ratepayers from excessive benefit packages.

The stated vision of CCCSD is:

"Be a high performance organization that provides exceptional customer service and full regulatory compliance at responsible rates."

The organization has achieved "high performance" but they have lost sight of "at responsible rates". I would work to restore this aspect of their vision and ask for your support on November 2!