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Orange County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
Smart Voter

District Finances and Compensation

By James R. Fisler

Candidate for Board Member; Mesa Consolidated Water District; Division 2

This information is provided by the candidate
Transparency to the Public- Mesa Consolidated Water District is Fiscally Responsible
In this era of the scandal over salaries and benefits at the City of Bell I feel strongly that the public has a right to information concerning compensation to employees and to the Board of Directors. This information should be easily accessible to the public. As your Director I led the charge in August 2010 to put this information on our website. You can access this information at: http://www.mesawater.org But to answer your important question: Directors are paid at the rate of $207.00 per day of service and cannot be paid for more than 10 days of service per month. As a Board, we average 14 days of service per month but cannot be paid for more than 10. We also receive a monthly "allowance" of $1050.00 towards purchasing medical, dental, and vision insurance. The amount used per Director varies, please see website for detailed amounts. It is important to note that if we do not use the full amount we do not receive payment for the difference as some other elected officials do.

Mesa Consolidated's Board of Directors is committed to fiscal responsibility. There was a recent report in the Register newspaper concerning "special districts". Mesa Consolidated is a special district. I find it revealing to note that the Register's report stated that from 2002 to 2007 employment rose 14 per cent and compensation rose 40 per cent for special district's on average, statewide. At Mesa Consolidated Water District our numbers were quite different: employment DECREASED 3 per cent and payroll increased only 11 per cent. Note: the CPI increased 20 per cent during this period. Mesa held the line at increasing compensation to match CPI. I will again protect your dollars when we negotiate with staff over compensation next year.

Also please note: Mesa Consolidated has reduced its staff by 15 per cent over the last ten years and reduced overtime by 27 per cent. Salaries at Mesa comprise less than 1/3 of budget, a comparitively lower ratio than industry standards. The District's liabilities are fully funded, with no outstanding retirement liabilities. Mesa Consolidated receives income from the sales of water only, having declined to receive property tax funds.

Aggressive efficiency, strong fiscal management, visionary strategic planning, and a strong focus on customer service are my commitments to you. With your support I will continue to find creative, cost effective solutions and provide leadership in the management of our water resources to meet the needs of our community.

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ca/or Created from information supplied by the candidate: September 12, 2010 14:01
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