ANAHEIM : Council Tries to End Utility Board Battle

In the latest and possibly last chapter of the City Council’s two-month squabble with its Public Utility Board, the council Tuesday appointed a high school principal and reappointed an incumbent to the seven-member commission.

Savanna High School’s Maria Carrillo Mejia and 12-year member Joe White were each appointed to four-year terms. Mejia replaces Ian Skidmore, a two-month member of the board who was not renominated after his seat was declared open.

The appointments come two months after a split council unexpectedly fired the entire board, which oversees the administration of the city’s $276-million utilities operation and advises the council on utility rates. Two weeks later, and just as unexpectedly, the council reversed itself and reinstated the board under the condition that the positions of White and Skidmore, who had just been appointed to the board, would be reconsidered in the fall.

White, who owns an Anaheim real estate office, said he had not planned to seek his seat again, but said members of the community asked him to reconsider. He said he did not take the original dismissal personally.

“We serve at the pleasure of the council, and if three of them want to dump you, that’s their prerogative,” he said. He said he will now push for an outside auditing firm to examine the department to see if there is any waste.

Attempts to reach Mejia Tuesday night were unsuccessful.

The controversy over the board began at the council meeting of Sept. 10. While the council was debating a routine agenda item appointing dozens of members to various city boards, Councilman William D. Ehrle noted that many utility board members had been appointed by previous councils and moved that an entire new board be appointed.

Mayor Fred Hunter and Councilman Irv Pickler agreed and ordered the board disbanded on Oct. 22. It then appointed Skidmore and reappointed White, but only temporarily.

After the meeting, Hunter told reporters that he wanted a new board that would support his plan to divert 8% of the department’s revenue to the general operating fund instead of the current 4%. Ehrle said he wanted the board ousted because they were “yes men” for the department’s administrators.

Those comments angered Pickler, and on Sept. 10 he voted with councilmen Tom Daly and Bob D. Simpson to reinstate the board, while leaving White and Skidmore dangling.

Last month, the council rejected the board’s recommendation that the city’s utility rates be raised an average of $3 per month per household, with some councilmen criticizing the board for making the recommendation.

Hunter said Tuesday that the complaints he had with the board are past.

“I think we got the message across that we want them to take a closer look at the books in the utility department,” he said. “And I think they’ll do that.”