Water District Board reaffirms commitment to seek “Sunshine Policy”

NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Susan Siravo
Office: (408) 265-2607, ext. 2290
Mobile: (408) 398-0754

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SANTA CLARA COUNTY— The Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors today reiterated the need for the district to pursue a “sunshine” policy.

Speaking at the special Board Governance Work Study session, Director Larry Wilson said that the board needed to have an in depth discussion on district “sunshine” policy, which would include how the board governs itself.

“The board believes that open government and transparency is key to good governance and, therefore, achieving greater transparency and accountability is a high priority for the board,” Board Chair Rosemary Kamei said after the special session.

“In its effort to find ways to enhance transparency and accountability, the water district is reviewing different ‘sunshine’ models as well as monitoring the City of San Jose’s Sunshine Reform Task Force to identify successful measures that can bring about greater transparency,” said Kamei.

Earlier this month, the board underlined the need to incorporate sunshine principles in its operations and directed the staff to seek the assistance and input from the community and members of the city’s sunshine reform task force to help the water district develop its own “sunshine” policy.

The board asked staff to schedule a presentation to the board from the members of the city’s sunshine task force to share their insights and suggestions. The presentation is expected to be held in late April or early May.

Meanwhile, the water district has already initiated efforts to provide the public greater access to information. These include:

• All board meetings are broadcast live on the web and posted later, so that anyone can go back and review the video of each meeting.
• Meeting agendas are available to the public at least 72 hours prior to a regularly scheduled meeting, 24 hours prior to a special meeting.
• Staff reports and background materials associated with board meeting agenda items are posted on the web. While the water district has been posting board meeting agendas and minutes on its website for many years, it has recently started providing supporting documents for agenda items.
• People can sign up for board agenda e-mail alerts, which means they are notified when the agenda is posted online.
• All decisions are made at board meetings (there are no standing committees), to ensure Brown Act compliance.
• Board meetings are listed in the weekly “Government Watch” column of the San Jose Mercury News. The description of the agenda items alerts an average person to attend meetings or seek further information on item of interest to them.
• Every year, the water district takes its Capital Improvement Plan to every city in the county to verify that the plan is consistent with their general plan.
• Water district staff meets with all elected officials, mayors and city managers at least once a year to discuss district projects and priorities within their city boundaries.
• All water district evaluations, audits and assessments are posted on the district website. These reports, featured on the district’s transparency and accountability page, include organizational performance reviews, civil grand jury and monitoring committee reports.
• Every year, the water district conducts extensive and open water rate and budget hearings.
• There is an independent monitoring committee for the Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Plan. The committee releases a yearly report on the plan’s progress. There are ads placed in local newspapers regarding the report and press releases are sent out to the media.
• The water district places public notice ads in newspapers throughout the county to advise all residents of public meetings and requests for proposals for contracts.
• The water district carries out extensive project-related community outreach, which includes an annual mailer to homes in floodplains and letters/flyers to homes near projects.

For more information, contact Susan Siravo at (408) 265-2607, ext. 2290.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District manages wholesale drinking water resources and provides stewardship for the county's watersheds, including 10 reservoirs, hundreds of miles of streams and groundwater basins. The water district also provides flood protection throughout Santa Clara County.