Yorba Linda Water District voters recall board members over rate increases

Decisions made by the Yorba Linda Water District (YLWD) board of directors in October of last year have proved to be the undoing of two of the district’s board members after the board had agreed to increase the basic-service charge from $16 to $41. Unofficial results of last week’s election clearly indicate the ire of the district’s voters with the recall of two of the current board members.

Some 70 percent of the district’s voters have voted to recall board members Robert Kiley and Gary Melton and to replace them with Brooke Jones and Albert Nederhood. Both of the new YLWD board members have been backed by the Yorba Linda Taxpayers Association which had canvassed the district and collected signatures forcing the recall as part of the general election.

“That was the result that we were looking for, to see both Kiley and Melton recalled,” Jones said Tuesday night. “We want people to pay a fair rate. … But I think that the current board has gone way out of balance in that direction.”

The $25-a-month rate increase fueled a bitter battle throughout the small community. The YLWD has been forced to deal with declining revenues, as have many water districts in the California, as state-mandated conservation became necessary to deal with California’s on-going drought. After the state lifted the mandatory conservation plan earlier this year the YLWD reduced its monthly increase by $9.

Two other seats on the five-person water district board were also up for election. YLWD Board President Ric Collett was up for re-election while an incumbent Board Member, Michael Beverage, declined to seek another term. Election results indicate that Collett has lost his seat to newcomer John Wayne Miller who was backed by the taxpayers’ association. Miller outpaced Collett 31.6 percent to 16.9 percent. The other open council seat will be filled by Andy Hall who is aligned with the current board incumbents.

The election outcome for the YLWD – provided the existing results are validated – indicates that four new members of the board will join current Board Member Phil Hawkins whose term expires in December 2018.