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FPUD sets Feb. 22 hearing for directors' per diem increase

The Fallbrook Public Utility District has set a Feb. 22 hearing for a 5% increase in the per diem pay board members receive.

The hearing was set Jan. 25 on a 4-0 FPUD board vote, with Jennifer DeMeo recovering from surgery. A 5% increase from the current $110.25 directors receive for attending meetings would equate to $115.76 for each meeting.

“Most districts are a little bit higher,” Jack Bebee, general manager of FPUD, said.

FPUD’s administrative code stipulated that per diem pay is to be reviewed annually, and any increase is limited to 5%. A recommended increase requires a public hearing to be set, and the increase will not take effect until at least 60 days after the meeting.

District staff provided per diem amounts for other water districts, and the only per diem lower than FPUD’s is the Valley Center Municipal Water District, whose board members receive $100 for each meeting. The per diem for Lakeside Water District directors is $125, and that amount has been unchanged since August 1989 and is given only for full board meetings rather than for committee meetings.

Padre Dam Municipal Water District directors have a per diem of $145. A $150 per diem is given to directors of the Rainbow Municipal Water District, the Santa Fe Irrigation District and the San Diego County Water Authority. Rainbow’s last increase was approved by the board in November 1999 and took effect in January 2000. Helix Water District board members receive per diem pay of $225.

“We certainly don’t do this for the money,” FPUD board member Dave Baxter said.

Joe Naiman can be reached by email at [email protected].

Author Bio

Joe Naiman, Writer

Joe Naiman has been writing for the Village News since 2001

 

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