CAMARILLO : Water District OKs 28% Budget Hike

Directors of the embattled Camrosa Water District approved an $8.2-million budget Tuesday for the year that began July 1, a 28% increase that district officials said reflected the increased wholesale-water costs and the effects of the drought.

“We played it as close to the chest on this budget as we possibly could,” Board President Jack C. Rogers said after the vote. “Costs have been going up, and it’s reflected in the budget.”

General Manager Gina Manchester said the $1.8-million budget increase for the year ending June 30, 1992, includes a projected $500,000 hike in the cost of water from the Metropolitan Water District, a new $378,000 expense for water set aside for “critical needs” and a $175,000 increase in the cost of maintaining and repairing the district’s sewage treatment plant.

The district, which serves about 25,000 residents and 200 farmers in eastern Camarillo and the Santa Rosa Valley, was operating on a preliminary budget passed in June.

Three of its five board members--Rogers and Directors Kenneth P. Gerry and Kenneth Goth--face a recall election in November as a result of the imposition of a tiered rate structure that penalizes heavy water users. Director Carolynn Nicholson is up for reelection and the fifth seat is vacant.

The recall drive was spearheaded by the owners of multi-acre homes in the Santa Rosa Valley, whose monthly bills exceeded $500 in some cases because of penalties.

Recall leaders charge that the district is mismanaged and unable to administer the penalty formula.

District officials said valley residents, who account for 10% of households and 45% of residential use, want other homeowners to subsidize keeping their lawns green.