TITLE
Recommendation to receive and file report on the actions taken at the Metropolitan Water District Board meeting held on June 10, 2008.
DISCUSSION
I wish to bring the following action to the Council's attention:
The MWD Board of Directors voted to oppose AB 885 (Calderon) outright. AB 995 would grant the City of Long Beach and twenty other member agencies of the MWD (currently limited to one representative) with the ability to appoint one alternate board representative if they chose to do so, to serve in place of the principal board representative should they be absent. Currently, if a MWD member agency's sole board representative is absent from and MWD Board of Directors meeting for any reason, that member agency goes unrepresented and without a vote for that particular Board meeting. Conversely, the five largest MWD member agencies that are afforded more than one board representative retain full voting power, despite one or more of that agency's board representatives being absent.
As a result, I opposed the action taken by the Board of Directors because there needs to be more flexibility in the MWD Act to bring greater parity to member agencies with only one board representative such as Long Beach.
Please see the attached letter from Mayor Foster to Assemblymember Charles Calderon. Information about AB 885 may be found at www.leginfo.ca.gov.
TIMING CONSIDERATIONS
None.
FISCAL IMPACT
None.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
Respectfully Submitted,
Suja Lowenthal
Councilmember, Second District