Garberville Sanitary District Addresses Social Media Rumors Amidst A Push for Rate Adjustments
Garberville Sanitary District water treatment facility [Photo by Kelley Lincoln]
Ralph Emerson explained what prompted a May 21 press release regarding falsehoods being promoted on social media: “There are some people who do not live in this County, District or community that work hard to disparage GSD while presenting a narrative of misinformation about GSD staff, Board Members and operational effectiveness, while in fact this Board and staff are cohesive and dedicated to working on behalf of the customers while developing projects to improve the District while being fiscally responsible, more efficient and self-reliant.”
In an email correspondence, Emerson addressed the criticisms of GSD circulating around social media. Emerson said critics have claimed the “GSD Board doesn’t welcome diverse views or potential Board Members who have independent thoughts” which Emerson deemed “Absolutely False.”
Emerson described a rumor that the proposed rate adjustment was “to pay for my salary which increases annually.” Once again, Emerson regarded this claim as “False” and added that he “took a $2,000/month cut in pay last year to assist with the budget bottom line and to provide money to increase staff pay so they would not take better-paying jobs elsewhere and leave us with new employees that do not know the community, GSD or our operating system.”
According to TransparentCalifornia.com, Emerson makes $116,750.01 in his position as the General Manager of GSD. Salary.com says “the average Sanitation Manager salary in California is $76,253 as of May 28, 2020, but the range typically falls between $66,142 and $90,101.”
Garberville resident Jerry Latsko submitted a letter of protest to the rate adjustments which was published on Redheaded Blackbelt. Latsko characterizes the budget of GSD as “top-heavy.” He expressed understanding that “the crew of operators and office workers deserve to be well paid, but how is Ralph Emerson worth two or three times the money that they earn? He was paid over $116,000 in 2018 and has since been awarded increases of over twenty thousand dollars annually.”
Emerson said critics question his commitment “to serving the customers of GSD and fulfilling my responsibilities as the General Manager because I am not at GSD 100% of the time.” Responding to these critiques, he said “My commitment to GSD is proven as I spend between 50-70 hours per week on behalf of GSD, regardless of being home or in office. I am on community Boards & I donate my time for many local events so I am committed to improving the community and GSD regardless of false statements to the contrary. The only reason I continue working at GSD is because of a supportive Board and dedicated staff that work well together on behalf of the Community and GSD and I am committed to improving the infrastructure and operations of GSD.”
Emerson serves on the California Special District’s Association Board of Directors and his biography suggests he serves in many capacities throughout Northern California’s water districts: “I have worked for public agencies in the water/wastewater field for over 20 years as an operator, chief plant operator or general manager. I currently am the water operator for Leggett in Mendocino County, the wastewater operator for Miranda in Humboldt County, the contract wastewater operator for the USBR at Melones Reservoir in Calaveras and Tuolumne County and the general manager for Garberville Sanitary District, which provides water and sewer service.”
Emerson outlined the many factors that contribute to the need for a rate adjustment. He described GSD’s “failing infrastructure” necessitating rate adjustments describing a leaking concrete water storage tank built before 1936, a redwood water tank that leaks near the top so it’s only filled partway, and over 30 combined miles of neglected water/sewer pipe in need of replacement.
Latsko asserted in his letter of protest that the rate adjustments are being proposed “to pay for decades of neglect by the water company.” He claims, “there is no adequate explanation for this and it raises questions as to the competence of the management and the board of GSD.”
Emerson explained another factor contributing to the need for rate adjustments was providing the revenue necessary to retain employees in the competitive field that requires equitable compensation. Emerson justified considerable compensation for the General Manager because “Skills and experience determine the value of a General Manager.” Emerson also asserted GSD’s General Manager position requires a “willingness to work in Southern Humboldt” explaining that many candidates are not interested in applying to the position based on Garberville’s remote location
Emerson explained the continual need to recruit and retain Water/Wastewater Operators: “The GSD operators and myself receive multiple job openings per month and if I am not competitive I will lose skilled operators to other districts with better compensation packages and opportunity for advancement.”
Emerson anticipates that if the rate adjustments were approved by customers, “some customers will have a decrease in their water bill and a slight increase to their sewer bill. Percentage increases will be directly related to the volume and strength of water consumed.” A closer examination of the proposed rate adjustments can be found on the GSD website.
If a customer of Garberville Sanitatary District is interested in voicing their concerns regarding the rate adjustment, Emerson explained that “every property owner with a single Assessors Parcel Number is allowed to state their opinion about rate adjustments.” A May 21 GSD press release explained that the board chose to continue the Prop 218 rate adjustment process until the June 23 Board Meeting. It explained the postponement will allow the public to attend the meeting if desired and give their comments to the Board regarding services charges.
GSD’s Guidelines for the Submission and Tabulation of Protests states that protests must be written and either mailed to the District Clerk’s office in Garberville or personally submitted at the public hearing. The guidelines also explain that “A majority protest exists if “written protests are… a majority (50% plus one) of parcels subject to the proposed change.”
GSD customers are encouraged to either deliver these letters to the District Clerk’s Office at 919 Redwood Drive, Garberville, California 95542 during standard business hours, or mail them to District Clerk at P.O. Box 211, Garberville, CA 95542. These letters of protest must be turned in by the end of the board meeting on June 23 where customers are welcome to voice their concerns and compose their letters on site.
Emerson postulated the consequences of the rate adjustment being rejected by customers: “if a majority of property owners contest the rates, GSD would have to make adjustments that would directly impact what projects could be accomplished.” He explained that considering the “leaks and failing infrastructure,” GSD “will certainly have more customer complaints and service interruptions.” Emerson reassured that regardless of the outcome, GSD will continue to provide “the best service possible with the dedicated staff that we have and we will provide safe potable water and prompt service for our customers.”
Note: Our apologies for the incorrect name used in the first version of this post.
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As hesitant as I am to jump into the politics of the Garberville Sanitary District and maybe offend some of my long-time friends and neighbors, I must point out how crumbled the utility had become before the GSD was formed and purchased the barely functioning facility.
Most of the water pipes in the streets were from pipes salvaged from old oilfield pipes, and the sewer lines in some places ran uphill to get where they needed to go. When there was a fire in Garberville the firefighters had to connect to several fire hydrants to get enough fire-flow.
I personally knew Irwin Foltz, the man that repaired the utility for the Hurlbut family that owned the water district previous to the GSD. Foltz was a mechanical genius, as to anyone who knew him would attest. He was very instrumental in keeping the worn-out system working. I also personally knew Fred Hurlbut. Fred complained that The Public Utilities Commission would not let him build a reserve fund to use to upgrade the old system. He said that he just couldn’t manage to gather the funding needed to do any improvements. He said that he had to do improvements before the PUC would allow him a rate increase. Needless to say, he was very disheartened and felt that the best option was to sell the water company to a utility district that would be available to get more public funding. That eventually happened.
I am seeing many, many much needed improvements under the management of Ralph Emerson, say what you will, we would be hard pressed to find a better manager for the GSD. Few people realize the complications of managing a utility district. He is dedicated to the community and works tirelessly to get funding for improvements. It is amazing how far we have come from the old worn out system.
The biggest problem with being a dynamic manager is having to explain everything. However, that is part of the job. It is obvious that Emerson understands that.
makes sense
What doesn’t make sense from Emerson is this quote:
“The only reason I continue working at GSD is because of a supportive Board and dedicated staff that work well together on behalf of the Community and GSD and I am committed to improving the infrastructure and operations of GSD.”
So to be blunt, Emerson is not working at GSD to improve or protect the quality of life for human health or protect the health and quality of the South Fork Eel River, only because he feels supported by the GSD Board, not the ratepayers or community as a whole? What kind of bubble does this guy live in?
When was the last time Emerson or GSD Board members made an in person impromptu visit to GSD customers and ratepayers, door to door and ask how they are doing, do you have any questions, how are we doing etc?
And then he said:
“The GSD operators and myself receive multiple job openings per month and if I am not competitive I will lose skilled operators to other districts with better compensation packages and opportunity for advancement.”
All I can say is Wow, welcome to the real world. The grass is always greener above the septic tank and leach fields. So I guess GSD is a dead end job, with dam good pay and benefits with no room for advancement? Who were these “other districts”?
History is always important perspective! Thanks for sharing Ernie.
If you consider “History” as an “important perspective”, just look at the history of GSD since purchasing the Garberville Water Co in 2004. People now seem to forget, GSD was only a wastewater/sewer treatment special district until 2004. After 2004, GSD has tried to control and increase, outside of public meetings, which people get to use that water, including new development. GSD feels all the water in the South Fork Eel serves at the pleasure of the GSD Board. This mindset has become even more evident since Ralph Emerson became GSD GM. Including his disdain and blatant disregard for the Brown Act, Public Records Act requests, Statement of Economic Interest (Form 700) and Conflict of Interest code. Its just like the news article above, Emerson’s gaslighting in the article are demeaning and despicable as a public servant to say the least.
That is some great insight. But, there is nothing to justify that amount of pay. If the statewide range is as indicated and he’s being paid that much, then people have a legitimate gripe. If the over-paid director wants to commit to not getting a pay increase for at least five years, then it would make more sense.
The thing is, this guy isn’t special. There are plenty of people qualified to do the work. Everyone is expendable and we’re heading for a deflationary economy. Plenty of people available to do the same work for less.
Ernie, I wanted to remind you what I had stated some months ago (February 12, 2020 8:08 am) concerning what you have stated above:
Heard the interview Ralph Emerson gave KMUD News last night and wanted to discuss what he stated, or more to the point, what he did not disclose to the public in his interview.
https://soundcloud.com/kmudnews/garberville-sanitary-district-proposes-5-year-rate-increase
To sum up his interview, he blamed the proposed new rate increase of water and sewer from GSD on some very old history and alternative facts that go way back to the 1920’s and 30’s, before the Garberville Water Company (GWC) was formed and established. And while it’s awesome to know the history of water service in Garberville, its the fact that GSD purchased said water company (GWC) from the Hurlbutt Family in 2004 and the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) approved the sale of the GWC to GSD in November 2006:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RoPuiYrUCiTZY1MJAr_8z-NfA2wKWAse
And, in 2000, GSD must have known GWC was sent a letter from then California Department of Public Health (CDPH), notifying GWC of many deficiencies they found in their water system after doing an inspection, correct? And this was 4 years before GSD purchased the GWC. So, GSD should have known there were problems, major problems all along the way, which it turns out, was only the tip of the iceberg. This should have been the 1st tip off something was wrong:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1fzW_MBhpc3HM2LTl9e_3AuM1qKXZhoY-
Now, going back to the PUC purchase approval of GWC by GSD, it states on page 4:
“The proposed purchase price of $320,000 is $133,285 over the book value”. However, GSD still followed through and purchased the GWC for $320,000 anyway, knowing full well there were problems. Which should have been the 2nd tip off, something was wrong.
Its just like when you buy a house, property or even a vehicle, you have it inspected, do some research on it, make sure what you are buying is worth the price in the short and long term. I guess GSD did not do their due diligence when they purchased GWC.
My point is, GSD should have known that the GWC had major problems to begin with and was a money pit, with already aging infrastructure and problems back in 2000, let alone when GSD purchased it, let alone now in 2020. The problem is, GSD is a public agency, and as such mandated by law to operate in the best interest of the public, not as a private utility company working outside the public trust guidelines or without accountability, transparency and telling the truth.
I am concerned, given the chance, GSD will sacrifice the South Fork Eel River until it runs dry on the surface to satisfy its approval of private development projects, short term greed, ego’s and conflicts of interest by different Board members who were appointed, not elected over the years, all while increasing rates on the backs of its ratepayers…
All this talk about GSD’s salaries, at least you can look them up like you are supposed to! Southern Humboldt Community Healthcare District hasn’t posted their salaries since 2013 which is legally required of publicly funded districts. What are they trying to hide? Or it is 7 years of sheer incompetence that they can’t meet their legal requirements?
https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2013/southern-humboldt-community-hospital-district/
As quoted by Ralph Emerson the in above news article:
“There are some people who do not live in this County, District or community that work hard to disparage GSD while presenting a narrative of misinformation about GSD staff, Board Members and operational effectiveness, while in fact this Board and staff are cohesive and dedicated to working on behalf of the customers while developing projects to improve the District while being fiscally responsible, more efficient and self-reliant.”
I for one would like to know or can Ralph Emerson provide more than just vague and ambiguous language to legitimize his claim, can he back it up with facts, because I know I can. I would like to also remind Ralph Emerson, GSD is not just a public agency in Garberville or County of Humboldt, but in the State of California. And is Ralph Emerson a resident of Humboldt County or Calaveras County, were he owns his “Water Supply and Irrigation Systems” buisness:
https://www.tjtconstruction.com/company/emerson-ralph-2097430125
The public “self” servants run the utility districts of Southern Humboldt. The bigger picture is that pensions hold trillions of dollars in the stock market and could care less about the millions unemployed or cost of “essential” services unless it maintains and increases their own personal pension and benefits. A liberal blog will tell you they are our “heros.” Worship at the feet of the 100k club of California.
https://www.ocregister.com/2019/08/05/number-of-public-retirees-in-100k-club-skyrockets-but-theyre-just-part-of-the-burden-on-state-pension-system/
Here’s what was presented and approved by the GSD Board at their May 19, 2020 Board meeting. As you can see, GSD pays out over $136,000.00 to its General Manager (Gen. Mgr) in salary and benefits and more than $426,000.00 in total salary and benefits to GSD employees as a whole. How many other public water/sewer districts in the state of California, with 380 sewer service connections and 456 water service connections pay out that kind of salary and benefits to its employees?
What I’m getting at, if Ralph Emerson was not making the vast majority of that income I could understand the argument. However, Ralph Emerson is the fox guarding the hen house, and in this case, no one on at GSD is publicly defending him!
Looks like the sr op and op are paid quite a bit to, while the laborer is underpaid. I wonder what their turnover is for laborer?
The previous governing board and previous general manager of the GSD chose to put the district into a massive debt when they finagled that boondoggle water treatment plant down at the park.
When they acquired the water company, the engineering report on the water treatment plant estimate for upgrade was $88,000. Instead, the board threw that out and hired another engineer to plan an entirely new, outsized system at the Southern Humboldt Community Park. It ended up costing a bundle.
I think they now need to raise the rates to get enough income to cover their debt and qualify for grants and loans they want in order to upgrade the infrastructure that has been decaying for so long.
Yes, and that “bundle” was to the tune of $5,000,000.00, so GSD could supply water to Park for their development schemes, i.e. commercial concerts, festivals and large public events! Is there any doubt in anyone’s mind why GSD built that water treatment plant in that location on property owned by Bob McKee?
Then there is the fact that the Southern Humboldt Community Park is trying desperately to get GSD water to every corner of the park, supposedly for “drinking fountains.”
But they are not proposing a drinking fountain at little Tooby Park, where there is potable water already.
Kinda makes ya wonder.
What is “little Tooby Park”, is there a big Tooby Park? You do need to know, the Park Board does have plans for a drinking fountain at Tooby Park once they are approved water from GSD, at the same location the County did have one and was used by the public from 1966 to 2004 as a county park. After Steve Dazey was able to hoodwink the County out of Tooby Park and allow the Park Board to operate it as a private Park in 2004, for some reason, one of the first things the Park Board did was decommissioned that drinking fountain at Tooby Park for reasons that were never clear. The new drinking fountain planned for Tooby Park can be seen here, page 29 of the pdf link below, in whats labeled as “Area 1” :
http://humboldtlafco.org/wp-content/uploads/7A-GSD-Service-Extension-w-Attachments.pdf
Ed Voice
You are one of the old friends that I was not trying to offend. I admire your zeal in wanting to defend the South Fork of the Eel. When I was young I practically lived in the river since before the 1950’s. I have seen things about the river that you could never have known without having seen them, like the kind of rocks, the mud at the bottom of the deep holes, and the baby eels that lived in the mud. So, quite often I have to bite my tongue when you comment.
I wish that you and Greta Thunberg would join forces and address the real problem…. Too-many-people that are just trying to get through life and want to have babies. As soon as you can convince folks that we have enough people already, then you can go ahead and fix the GSD.
Ralph Emerson had nothing to do with the purchase of water company, he agreed to come to work here and fix the system. Which is pretty similar, in task, to fixing world birth control. I don’t think that there are very many competent water managers that are scrambling to take his job at his pay. I wouldn’t take it at the pay that he is getting. (If I were qualified, and I’m not.) My father, who was a very wise man in his country way, always said “don’t criticize what a man does unless you are willing to do it better.”
I gave up on trying to save the river when the “Educated Experts” decided to clean the ’64 flood logging debris from the spawning streams by removing the stumps, logs, and brush. (against my almost tearful objections) They removed prime fish habitat and made the river into a bare riffle all the way to the ocean. Talk about a heart-breaker. They set fish spawning back 50 years.
Now that I’ve had my say, I hope that we can remain friends, because I often agree with you. However……
“don’t criticize what a man does unless you are willing to do it better.”
Ernie, who ever said I was not “willing to do it better”? If I was given the opportunity to replace Ralph Emerson, I would do it in a heart beat, and would do it for half as much and twice as good. In fact, I will state on the record, I would not want any compensation from GSD for the first year. I do have to tell you, I will piss off most of those new developers that get Ralph and GSD to pay for all their new upgraded water and sewer connections. And I would stop GSD from leaking and wasting over 15 million gallons of water per year from the South Fork Eel River.
Of course we will always remain friends Ernie, I and my family go back along time with you in Garberville, nothing will ever change that fact. When you realize you have more years behind you than you do in front of you, it makes me want to do better, I see things in a different light and pay it forward…
Funny how y’all call a raise an ‘adjustment’
What did I miss here, Emerson is quoted from the news article above as stating:
“I spend between 50-70 hours per week on behalf of GSD, regardless of being home or in office. I am on community Boards & I donate my time for many local events so I am committed to improving the community and GSD regardless of false statements to the contrary.”
What “community Boards” and where does he “donate” his “time for many local events”? Is he being paid by GSD to be on community boards and donate his time for many local events?
It just seems Emerson is making up a non-existent boogieman, who he cannot name or confirm even exist or set the record straight. And which “home” is he talking about, his home in Murphys Ca?
And then you have this one: “Emerson justified considerable compensation for the General Manager because “Skills and experience determine the value of a General Manager.” Emerson also asserted GSD’s General Manager position requires a “willingness to work in Southern Humboldt” explaining that many candidates are not interested in applying to the position based on Garberville’s remote location”
Whoa, “willingness to work in Southern Humboldt” (only as long as they pay me allot of money) and “Garberville’s remote location”? Remote compared to what? I can think of many “remote” communities outside of Garberville. He knew where he was going when he applied for the job!
Did Emerson forget, GSD is a classified Disadvantaged Community by the state, it means GSD qualifies for grants and no interest loans and has been years before Emerson showed up for the job.
“The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) definition for a Disadvantaged Community (DAC) is a community with an annual median household income (MHI) that is less than 80% of the Statewide annual MHI (PRC Section 75005(g)), and those census geographies with an annual MHI less than 60% of the Statewide annual MHI are considered “Severely Disadvantaged Communities” (SDAC).”
So how is it, GSD can afford to pay out over $426,000,00 in salary’s and benefits to their employees each year, with only 380 sewer service connections and 456 water service connections? I guess, by “Disadvantaged Community”, they don’t mean employees of GSD!