Issues
A Business Model That Works: Currently, the more you conserve, the more they raise your rates,
and there is still a budget gap. The district needs a business model that rewards conservation,
penalizes water waste, and reflects the true costs of the system. A recent consultant's report
reveals that the district does not have a cost-of-service rate model. This means that there is no
relationship between the cost to deliver water and the water rates. They can't be sure they can cover
their costs, so they have to raise rates and hope for the best.
Measure Programs & Departments for Effectiveness: The current conservation program does not measure the effectiveness of each program, so good programs, like the Sustainable Fairfax pilot, are cut and other less successful programs remain. All programs should be measured for effectiveness so that underperforming programs can be cut to make room for new approaches.
A Culture of Transparency: This year, the current board created a shell entity so that they could approve bonds without a public vote. There needs to be a culture of transparency and public participation built into the board's activities so that the public can give valuable input into the decisions that affect our communities. The board needs to make better use of citizens advisory committees, allowing interested people and community groups to participate in creating solutions that can be reported back to the board.
