Marysville’s take on ORA protest – “Why would anything be confidential – does the ratepayer not have a right to know everything that they are paying for?

$94,838,100 or 16.5% – 2017
$22,959,600 or 3.4% – 2018
$22,588,200 or 3.3% on January 1, 2019

HERE ARE A FEW OF THE LARGE TICKET ITEMS THAT WILL BE SPREAD AROUND TO EACH CAL WATER DISTRICT-INCLUDING MARYSVILLE:

ALMOST $65 MILLION WILL GO TO THE GENERAL OFFICE. IF YOU DO YOUR MATH THAT IS 1/2 of the TOTAL AMOUNT OF RATE INCREASES THAT THEY ARE REQUESTING. THIS MONEY THAT COULD BE USED TO UPGRADE OUR OLD INFRASTRUCTURE.

General Office additions of:
$39 million
$24 million is designated for computers/software;
$2.2 million General office;Water quality lab improvement project

CAL WATER HAS MADE A-Special Request: Eliminating 10% Cap on WRAM Amortization.

ONE OF THE MOST DISTURBING ITEMS IS PAGES AND PAGES MARKED CONFIDENTIAL!! WHY WOULD ANYTHING BE “CONFIDENTIAL” ? DOES THE RATEPAYERS NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW EVERYTHING THAT THEY ARE PAYING FOR?

Cal Water identified many items, and occasionally entire pages, as confidential that have not been marked confidential in other Class A Water Utility GRC’s, nor in previous Cal Water applications. Additionally, much of this material is publically available elsewhere, such as on the Urban Water Management Plan website. ORA is concerned that this overly broad approach to confidentiality will negatively impact ORAs review process and the public’s ability to evaluate and potentially participate in the
proceeding.

AND CAL WATER WONDERS WHY PEOPLE ARE UPSET?