Supervisors to look into sanitary district

A group of prominent residents and elected officials ranging from Larkspur to Fairfax stormed the Board of Supervisors meeting this morning to raise concerns about one thing they all had in common: the Ross Valley Sanitary District.

Larkspur Council member Dan Hillmer presented a graph to the supervisors, which he said was based on financial statements from the sanitary district, showing that the fee ratepayers pay to the district has risen, as has the amount spent on legal fees, salaries and benefits, at the same time the amount spent on replacing and repairing pipes has dropped.

These are allegations that Ross Valley Sanitary District Manager Brett Richards says are false and misrepresentations.

"I have a real problem with people who don't know how to manage their own cities finances being critical of how successful I am at managing mine," said Richards.

The Ross Valley Sanitary District provides sewage collection services to San Anselmo, Fairfax, Ross, Sleepy Hollow, Kentfield, Greenbrae, and Larkspur. The sanitary district is part of the Central Marin Sanitation Agency, which is a joint powers agency providing sewage treatment services to the Ross Valley Sanitary District, the San Rafael Sanitary District, and Sanitary District Number 2 (Corte Madera).

In 2009, the Grand Jury released a report blaming much of the "dysfunction" of the Central Marin Sanitation Agency on the Ross Valley Sanitary District.

John Dupar, a council man for Corte Madera and the Chair of the Central Marin Sanitation Agency, called the actions of the Ross Valley Sanitary District "childish" and said the lack of communication from them nearly lead to the wrong chemicals being used to clear roots recently. "It would have been a disaster," he said.

Hillmer and Dupar were not the only elected official to bring concerns to the supervisors this morning. They were joined by San Anselmo Mayor Barbara Thornton, and former San Anselmo Council member Peter Breen. Ross Mayor Chris Martin and Fairfax Mayor Lew Tremaine also planned to appear and voice their concerns, but couldn't because of scheduling conflicts.

"None of these people have ever been to one of our board meetings," said Ross Valley Sanitary District Board member and Fairfax resident Marcia Johnson.

The concerns primarily centered on the appropriate use of ratepayer funds. In 2008, the district passed the largest rate increase to date doubling the average ratepayer's yearly fee to around $520. [Larkspur resident pay slightly more because of the consolidation agreement when Larkspur joined the district.] However, said Richards, the district only keeps just under 50 percent of that rate, because the rest goes to the Central Marin Sanitation Agency. When the Central Marin Sanitation Agency passes a rate increase, it gets passed on to all the members, who must in turn pass it on to their ratepayers.

Hillmer, however, said that both San Rafael and Corte Madera (also member agencies in the Central Marin Sanitation Agency) haven't raised rates as much. When the rate increase was proposed in 2008, Hillmer said he formally protested the rate increase.

"And, now, two years later, I have many more concerns," he said.

The district, he said, spends over $1 million on legal fees, just hired more staff and approved a six-year contract with a guaranteed 24 percent raise, and earlier this year approved a $30,000 raise and an increased severance package (worth $600,000, said Hillmer) for Manager Brett Richards.

Breen also listed off a number of items from the sanitary district's budget that he found particularly excessive including: $26,000 for landscaping, $4,200 for air travel, and $32,938 in board member payments.

Richards, however, said that they are failing to look at the full picture.

The recent hiring of six additional staff members saves the district between $500,000 and $600,000 per year that they no longer have to spend on contractors, he said. Additionally, Richards has proposed to the board that with additional staff and a pipe-bursting program to replace failing pipes, he could save $700,000 per mile of pipe. He hopes to bring on 7-10 more staff members towards that goal in the near future.

The six-year contract guaranteeing a 24 percent raise will save the district $470,000 because it also included concession on the amount of CalPERS contributions the district will make for its employees.

And, although the district had $1.7 million budgeted for legal fees, most of it is directed at ongoing legal wrangling over the Larkspur Landing property, where the district formerly resided and which was supposed to be sold to a developer in the early 2000s.

"But, still there's $204,000 going to other legal fees, compared to $25,000 budgeted for [the Central Marin Sanitation Agency]," said Breen.

Over the last three years, the district has laid over seven miles of pipe, said Richards, and nearly five miles in just the fiscal year 2010-11. In the fiscal year 2010-11, the district spent $9.3 million on pipe replacement and repair. This includes large projects like the Kentfield Force Main, where the 42-inch pipe just completed Phase 1 of its replacement.

"We have put more pipe in the ground than any other agency north of the bridge," said Richards.

Although Hillmer claimed another rate increase is in the near future, Richards said no such thing has been discussed.

Johnson believes these allegations come as part of an effort to force the Ross Valley Sanitary District to consolidate with Corte Madera and San Rafael. A move, she thinks, would hurt the Ross Valley district.

"Anytime you have something, someone else covets it," said Johnson, who argued that consolidation would make the Ross Valley Sanitary District liable to San Rafael and Corte Madera's pension liability and pipe replacements. "We're the most financially stable and have the most miles of pipe in the ground."

Consolidation has been an ongoing debate and the Ross Valley Sanitary District is expected to hold a forum on the issue this fall.

The supervisors didn't take a vote this morning, but did direct staff to investigate the claims and bring the issue back to a meeting in the future.

"I'm concerned deeply about a huge rate increase coming in the near future to cover some of these costs that seem outlandish," said Supervisor Hal Brown.

Though those that spoke at the meeting expressed hope the supervisors could head up a multi-jurisdictional effort to work with the sanitary district, Johnson said the supervisors have no oversight over the district.

"They really should focus on getting their own act together," she said.