The elected leaders of Valley Water could give themselves pay raises at their meeting tomorrow (Feb. 11) despite freezing new employee hirings to grapple with a massive budget deficit.
The board will consider a proposal that calls for a 5% raise from $365.87 to $384.16 per meeting. The five board members are paid per meeting and can only get paid for up to 15 meetings per month under state law. While the board has regular meetings twice a month, the law also applies to community and committee meetings.
Board members who are paid for 15 meetings every month could see a total compensation of nearly $70,000 annually if the 5% raise is approved. A possible reduction to the elected board’s pay is also on the table, after the board instituted a hiring freeze last February due to a $222 million budget deficit for the last fiscal year.
Valley Water has a seven-member board, with each director representing a different territory. Rebecca Eisenberg is the representative for Palo Alto and Los Altos. The water district doesn’t provide water to Palo Alto, but it collects a property tax. It uses some of that money on flood control projects, though it has threatened to pull out of the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority, which is trying to avert flooding along the creek.
The meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. tomorrow (Feb. 11) at the board’s headquarters, 5700 Almaden Expressway, San Jose. Meetings can be livestreamed on Zoom at https://valleywater.zoom.us/j/84454515597#success.
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