Marin Water ready to spend customers’ money

It’s easy to spend a lot of money, when it’s someone else’s.

The Marin Municipal Water District is currently being sued by two different parties over potentially unconstitutional water rates (“MMWD allots $800K to fight suits over rates, fees,” Dec. 21). Here’s a hint: It’s not that the rates are too low.

While these suits are hardly surprising given the eye gouging that every MMWD customer feels upon opening their bimonthly bills, the fact that the Board of Directors sees fit to hire “the most preeminent firm in the complex world of utility rates,” as Jack Gibson said in the IJ, tells you the board’s priority.

The legal tab will be nearly $1 million per year (of customer funds) going forward. And the district has already lost a key ruling in one of the lawsuits.

If the district loses one or both of them, the potential amount of money it will need to pay out could be many, many millions of (ratepayer) dollars.

It appears the board wants to spend their customers’ money until it hurts. They want to spend it on lavish health and retirement benefits for board members, on defending lawsuits that were brought about because of the board’s own misguided decisions and on many other items that have nothing to do with providing safe, clean water to the people of Marin.

It’s time for MMWD’s highly compensated public information department to provide some good spin.

When it comes to us,

MMWD’s customers, the policy of the Board of Directors seems to be, “let (your) money flow like water.”

— James Winter, Tiburon