• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

Should MID Ratepayers Fund Another Bureaucracy?

November 16, 2012 By Eric Caine 2 Comments

 

To What Purpose?

When Modesto Irrigation District (MID) General Manager announced his resignation, it was reasonable to conclude he’d be off the payroll. But in an odd twist of circumstances, Short’s new job will in part be funded by the MID.

Short was a prime mover in the formation of the San Joaquin Tributary Association, which became the San Joaquin Tributaries Authority (SJTA) on May 15. MID ratepayers have a right to know how much MID money has been spent on the group and whether or not it has had a general manager previous to Short.

Short was appointed General Manager last May 15, well before the firestorm of criticism over his proposal to sell Tuolumne River water to San Francisco, and well before the news of the likely legal jeopardy incurred by the imposition of a previously little-known Falling Water Charge. More recently, a pattern of circuitous payouts through intermediaries to consultants has also aroused inquiry.

It’s reasonable for MID ratepayers to ask why an organization with severe financial problems has chosen to add an expensive layer of bureaucracy. There’s nothing wrong with forming a coalition of water districts  with shared interests, but is there a need for another level of bureaucracy altogether? With Short as General Manager and former MID General Counsel Tim O’Laughlin also aboard, the San Joaquin Tributaries Authority looks a lot like a redundant and expensive outgrowth of managerial empire building.

The SJTA’s chief mission has been to oppose proposals to increase flows into the San Joaquin River so that salmon and steelhead populations can be restored to viable levels. How many MID ratepayers support such a mission?

Many MID employees have been without contracts for years now. Before he resigned, MID General Counsel Tim O’Laughlin was on track to take in a million dollars from the MID. Short’s parting salary is $240,507. Now ratepayers are going to continue paying both men for what looks like a publicly financed exit strategy.

The MID Board of Directors has a fiduciary responsibility to justify the expense and activities of the SJTA, and MID ratepayers have the right to know why so much money has gone to so many questionable projects. Both Allen Short and Tim O’Laughlin left under a cloud of controversy; neither should be receiving more MID money without full public transparency.

 

 

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: MID Allen Short, San Joaquin Tributaries Authority

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ted Donham says

    November 20, 2012 at 2:59 pm

    An interesting question came to my mind, thought I would share it. In 2009 I did run for the board, division 4, which I was unsuccessful. I also was at the time of the election an MID employee with plans to retire two weeks after the election. The media did discredit me as having a conflict of interest, which I am sure didn’t help my effort. As well as the MID made it clear to me that if I was successful and won the election, I would not be able to be paid my retirement as I would still be employed at the MID. Now here is the question, does MID pay Mr. Shorts retirement while continuing to pay him a salary through the SJTA? Now that seems a conflict to me. Mr. Short should choose to forego the MID portion of the agreed salary, or step back from the position.

    Reply
  2. Tobias Giesler says

    April 29, 2016 at 10:23 pm

    Thoughtful piece ! I Appreciate the facts ! Does anyone know if I could possibly access a fillable a form copy to work with ?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

California faces catastrophic flood dangers ? and a need to invest billions in protection
California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection
A new state plan for the Central Valley calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare for the dangers.
www.latimes.com
Oakland will get millions for the ?inhumane? crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it?s not enough
Oakland will get millions for the “inhumane” crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough
Gavin Newsom’s administration has awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with…
www.sfchronicle.com
Alaska?s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Mary Peltola won her election by campaigning on a platform to save the state’s prized fisheries. A powerful fishing lobby is standing in her way.
www.politico.com
Jimmy Carter's final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
One of former President Carter’s biggest hopes is wiping out an infectious parasitic disease that’s plagued humans for millennia. How close is he?
www.latimes.com
Climate Extremes Threaten California?s Central Valley Songbirds - Eos
Climate Extremes Threaten California’s Central Valley Songbirds – Eos
A “nestbox highway” in California’s Central Valley is guiding songbirds to safe nesting sites and giving scientists a peek at fledgling success in a changing climate.
eos.org
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Republican David Eastman suggested the death of child abuse victims could be a “cost savings” to wider society.
www.newsweek.com
Editorial: Newsom's drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Editorial: Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively ended environmental regulations protecting California rivers and migratory fish by extending drought-year waivers.
www.latimes.com
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
As of Thursday, just two of the more than 70 residents of McPherson Square had been placed in permanent D.C. housing.
www.washingtonpost.com
More Building Won?t Make Housing Affordable
More Building Won’t Make Housing Affordable
America’s housing crisis has reached unfathomable proportions. But new construction isn’t enough to solve it.
newrepublic.com
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Housing advocates are about to deliver a message to the Bay Area: Comply with state…
www.sfchronicle.com
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty 'Law of the River' holds sway
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
At the heart of tensions over water allotments from the Colorado River is a complex set of agreements and decrees known as the ‘Law of the River.’
www.latimes.com
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design