Water District Anticipates
Litigation
about employee and retiree health benefits
By Jay O'Brien
The Rio Linda/Elverta Community Water District Board of Directors'
health-benefits ad hoc committee, consisting of Directors Mary Harris
and Jim Strutton, hired attorney Richard Chiurazzi earlier this month
as an additional attorney for the District, according to Strutton, "to
help us out with this in the legal areas". A Board closed session was
held before the regular public Board meeting on March 21st, that,
according to the published agenda, was to "...confer with counsel
concerning pending and potential litigation concerning employee and
retiree health benefits. It has been determined by counsel [Chiurazzi]
there exists a significant exposure to litigation. The number of cases
are unknown at this time."
After meeting for an hour in closed session, the Board reported that
there was no action taken. Legal expenses with Chiurazzi to date are
$400, according to Board President Darrell Nelson. "We are
continuing to look into the situation, but we are making progress",
said Strutton, "We are continuing to progress and move on. I don't want
to go into any detail at this point because of exactly why we had the
closed session."
Even though the closed session was called specifically to discuss
litigation, Director Mary Harris apparently went beyond the scope of
the closed session meeting. During the following public Board session,
Harris, discussing the expense statement breakdowns, said to General
Manager Dave Andres, "We've got to break this down. Like I told you in
closed session, there's a discrepancy between the two, and I am in
contact with (attorney). They're looking at it like the other
attorney." Harris did not explain her statement to those in attendance
at the public meeting.
Harris, during the discussion of the District's financial reports,
asked that additional details be provided. Harris said, "I received as
a public document from PERS [California Public Employees' Retirement
System], the health benefits breakdown, and it had the names, and the
amounts, and something else there, so I think if PERS gives that to us
as a breakdown, Rio Linda Water District should be able to give us
that, as a breakdown." Harris did not provide copies to the public of
the "public document" she claims she received from PERS. The NEWS has
requested the District to make public a copy of the "public document"
cited by Harris.
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