Frivolous lawsuit against Water District; Temporary Restraining Order denied

Superior Court Judge Raymond M. Cadei denied the application for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against The Rio Linda/Elverta Community Water District on Friday, March 7. Gene and Charlea Moore, who requested the TRO, are suing the Water District to overturn a wage increase for employees of the District. The TRO, if granted by Judge Cadei, would have curtailed the increase that was effective December 1, 2002.

The Moore's claim that they will "suffer irreparable harm" if the Restraining Order was not issued. Charlea Moore, under penalty of perjury, claimed in her statement to the Judge "...the Water District is in financial distress and the payment of these higher salaries, without voter approval may result in disruption of water service." Moore did not include justification for her claim that the District is in financial distress and did not explain how payment of higher salaries without voter approval could result in disruption of water service.

In their application for the Temporary Restraining Order, the Moore's claim, through John M. Lattini, their Attorney, that they are "voters...who receive water delivered through the [Water District's] system". The Moore's are not water service customers and do not pay Water Fees, according to Water District General Manager Dave Andres. "How any hypothetical disruption in service could impact them is a mystery", said the Water District in its filing with the court opposing the Moore's.

The Moore's action claims that they presented a "Referendum Petition" to the Water District, later certified by the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, verifying the validity of the Petition and its signatures. The Moore's contend that the Water District should then have suspended the raises, reconsidered the resolution that detailed the raises or put the issue to a public vote. The Water District, however, responded that the referendum as circulated was incomplete, not meeting the requirements of the Election Code, and that the wage-setting action is not subject to referendum. The Water District further responded that the Registrar of Voters certified only the signatures, not the validity of the petition itself.

In it's statement to the court, the Water District says "...cutting the employees' salaries back to their former levels creates a serious risk to the District that it will lose those employees. Losing what little staff it has is far more likely to disrupt water service than the minuscule financial impact of the salary increase..."

The salary increases the Moore's would have stopped are for five employees. "In the three months since the salary increase took effect, it has cost the District only about $5580, or $1860 per month...defending this frivolous lawsuit will cost the District far more than that", stated Stacey Sheston, the District's legal counsel.

The Water District's annual operating budget is $1.1 Million.

Charlea Moore recently won a seat on the Rio Linda/Elverta Recreation and Park District Board of Directors.