Top water official says goodbye

SCV Water Agency’s assistant general manager accepts another position elsewhere

Santa Clarita Valley’s new water agency is losing one of their top staffers, leaving agency heads to ponder their previously-stated attrition policy.

Valerie Pryor, SCV Water Agency’s assistant general manager, has accepted a general manager position with an agency in Northern California.

“I’m both thrilled and deeply saddened to hear that she is going to be going up to Zone 7 in the Livermore area as their new general manager,” SCV Water Agency General Manager Matt Stone told members of its board Tuesday night.

“It’s really a good thing and I’m pleased about it, but it does leave us with a question about filling that role,” Stone said. “And it’s a key role. There’s a lot of key experience there.”

When the Castaic Lake Water Agency merged with the Newhall County Water District to become SCV Water, one of the recurring topics of discussion during the merger was reducing redundancy and maintaining economies of scale through job attrition.

“We always talked about attrition in the organization but you don’t get to pick and choose who ‘attrits,’” Stone said, eliciting a chuckle from board members.

Stone said he would begin actively looking for someone to fill the spot vacated by Pryor.

“I will be doing a recruitment for that position,” he said. “Try to see who we can get out there in the market. Hopefully we’ll have a successful recruitment and have a new face on the team.

“It’s inevitable that in time people come and go in the organization,” he said. “They make fantastic contributions while they’re here.”

Pryor won a hat trick of national awards during her stint with the agency, for having prepared exceptional budgets for the CLWA three separate years.

Pryor, together with former CLWA Controller Carlos V. Corrales, were credited in 2009 with winning a national award for the agency from the Government Finance Officers Association for their exceptional budget.

The award reflects the commitment demonstrated by the agency and its staff for having met the highest principles of governmental budgeting.