COSTA MESA : Water Board OKs Scaled-Down Budget
Under pressure from residents to cut administrative costs, Mesa Consolidated Water District trustees have approved a fiscal 1995-96 budget that is $220,000 less than the plan initially submitted.
The agency originally had projected a $600,000 deficit and had proposed to make up part of that by increasing customer rates. That drew howls of protest from residents, who said they were especially irked by a budget allocation to hire six more employees.
“Everyone else is streamlining their operations,” said Heather Somers, president of the Eastside Homeowners Assn. and an outspoken critic of the water district’s board. “They should be at least looking at ways to streamline theirs.”
The board instructed the agency staff to make cuts of at least $210,000 from the 1995-96 budget, and on Thursday the trustees approved the revisions.
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