Mesa Water Stifles Public Awareness?

SURF CITY VOICE

I don't know how many of you read the Surf City Voice, a blog operated by John Earl that focuses mainly, but not exclusively, on Huntington Beach issues, but I suggest you give it a look when you have time.  You can find it HERE.

FOCUSED ON WATER ISSUES LATELY

Earl has been tightly focused on Mesa Water District recently, primarily due to their involvement in the Poseidon desalination plant that's being planned for Huntington Beach.  He's become a real burr under Mesa's blanket in recent months, writing critically about many issues involving their operations, including their expensive "branding" effort that's been in the news lately.

RESTRICTING MEDIA ACCESS

Sunday he published an entry titled, New Mesa Water Press Credential Policy Weeds Out Journalists and Terrorists.  Click on that title to go to the site.  As you read through this entry - watch the video first - you find some issues that are pretty darn distressing from a censorship standpoint.


SOLID OPERATION IN THE PAST

I've not paid much attention to Mesa over the years.  I've felt the operation was well-run and cost effective, so there didn't seem to be much to criticize.  However, lately I've become a little more in tune with operations there and the major players involved.  It's become more visible on my radar because of the cross-pollination of members of the Mesa Board and Costa Mesa city committees and commissions.

RE-BRANDING AND CASH MANAGEMENT

For example, Mesa recently proposed using a for-profit organization to help manage their cash.  Then, out of the blue, a similar scheme is proposed by the new Finance Advisory Committee - which includes members of the Mesa board.  And then there's the whole "re-branding" issue on which they will have spent nearly $300,000 of ratepayer dollars.

NO BLOGGERS ALLOWED

According to John Earl in his piece, no bloggers will be credentialed to attend any Mesa official function.  I guess there is an assumption that bloggers are automatically critics of their operations, hence they will lock them out of any chance to observe and ask questions about operations at Mesa events.  You can read Mesa Water's Media Credentialing Policy HERE.  As an aside, in that video you'll hear Mesa Communication Director Stacey Taylor tick off the names of media organizations credentialed for the event Earl was attempting to attend.  The only local media outlet she mentioned was KOCI - the local radio station to which Mesa provides significant funding.  No mention of the Daily Pilot nor the Orange County Register - the two main sources of local news in our area.  I thought that was more than a little strange.

"TRANSPARENCY" WHEN IT'S CONVENIENT

Mesa touts its "transparency", yet apparently seeks to stifle reporting of their operations by some of us with a large local readership.  Unfortunately, this kind of attitude is insidious, so I'll be watching to see if this infection spreads to City operations, too.

Waves In Mesa Water's Little Pond

REICHER'S WATCHDOG ARTICLE OPENS THE DOOR (NOTE)*

More than a few of you probably don't read the Orange County Register in print, which means you didn't see Mike Reicher's excellent piece above the fold in the Local section today, Sunday.  And, unless you've decided to pay for it via the Register's recently-announced Paywall, you can't read it online, either.  That's a shame.  However, if you DO have access to the Register online - like me - you can read Mike's article HERE.  John Canalis, editor of the competing Daily Pilot, described this article as "strong enterprise" in a Twitter feed.  So, since you probably can't read Mike's work, I'll give you a taste of it without (hopefully) violating their copyright. *Early Tuesday, 41613, Mesa Water President Jim Fisler sent me the following link to a blog entry by their former PR consultant, Laer Pearce, providing his view (spin?) on this issue.  Thanks to Fisler for this information: http://clutterinclarityout.com/mesa-waters-excellent-rebranding-program/

THE HOOK

Mike's opening paragraph will give you a little bit of the flavor: "Native American musicians blessed the 'ancestral waters,' valets parked cars for the 150 'VIP' guests and $50,000 event planners passed out catered custom cookies shaped like water drops and redwood trees - $1,500 worth of cookies"

REELING YOU IN
He goes on from there to describe "Mesa Water District's lavish spending on marketing and communications.", including "undergoing a $500.000 branding campaign, including a name change and redesigned logo."  By now you've probably got the feel for the article.


MILLION DOLLAR PLUS PR BUDGET

He tells us that, while raising rates, Mesa (the new name) has increased its communications spending by 300% in four years - a $1.25 million annual budget that "dwarfs those at similar water districts."

PEARCE
Apparently Mesa paid PR consultant Laer Pearce nearly $270,000 in total consulting fees since beginning talks in 2008, including $85,000 specifically for branding.  They stopped using Pearce in December and plan to issue a new request for proposals for public relations consulting support.


WHY SPEND SO MUCH?

By all measures Mesa is a financially strong organization, but we wonder why they feel it's necessary to spend so much on public relations - to let people know who they are.  Reicher says, "A customer survey in 2012 found less than one-third of surveyed ratepayers could identify the district by name."  He quotes Mesa's Communications Manager Stacey Taylor as saying, "There's a big void.  It showed a lack of connection with the community."

GRAND JURY OPINION

Reicher tells us that "in 2009 the Board of Directors voted to increase rates by 25% between fiscal years 2010 and 2014".  He quotes district officials as stating the money to be received by the increased rates "is needed to maintain its AAA credit rating".  However, Mesa has "about $23 million in reserves and the Orange County Grand Jury issued a report last year recommending districts use excessive reserves to pay down debt."

STAFF COMPENSATION

To further illustrate the financial condition of Mesa Water, Reicher provided a little chart showing the top ten most highly compensated members of the Mesa staff - - each earn over $150,000 including benefits - starting with General Manager Paul Schoenberger at over $315,000  and includes Taylor at the number 3 spot, with more than $194,000 in total compensation.  You can find out more information about Mesa Water at their website, HERE, and specific information about the compensation program HERE.

NO GRUMBLING ALLOWED!

Reicher's last paragraph leaves his readers with an interesting quote from Communication Manager Taylor.  He quotes her as saying, "Yes, we're a monopoly public utility, and customers don't have a choice," Taylor said, "but does that mean we want people grumbling about their government?"  That should make us all think just a little about how Mesa is spending OUR money.

FIND IT AND READ IT

I hope these snippets will cause you to jump off your couch, abandon watching the final round of the Master's Gold Tournament, and go buy a copy of the Sunday Register at your local convenience store.

DEBBIE COOK COMMENT
Reicher's article is only the most recent of many critical publications about Mesa Water District.  In February former Huntington Beach Mayor Debbie Cook published a scathing commentary on the SurfCityVoice blog titled Mesa Water Drops Fiduciary Duties as Ratepayers Pick Up The Tab, HERE.

SURF CITY VOICE ALL OVER IT
SurfCityVoice Blog publisher John Earl has long been a watchdog on water issues in our region, focusing on the planned Poseidon desalination project in Huntington Beach.  Last month he published two very critical essays on his blog concerning Mesa Water, HERE and HERE.

LITVAK'S QUESTION

Late last month Costa Mesa resident Jay Litvak published a commentary in the Daily Pilot that asked, "What is Mesa Water Up To?", HERE.  And resident Howard Hull - one of the cadre of true believers who hover around the power elite in Costa Mesa - published a snarky rejoinder to Litvak in the Daily Pilot last week, HERE.

REAL TRANSPARENCY IS GOOD
Personally, I think a little light on Mesa Water and the other small, special districts, is a good thing.  I'm not so sure that Mesa anticipated the kind of attention they're getting when they decided to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a PR campaign so folks would know who is delivering their water.  It might be one of those "be careful what you ask for" situations.  We'll see...

Rohrabacher and Righeimer In Honduras

NO REST...
Just when you thought the holidays were going to keep things nice and calm, stuff, as they say, happens.

WIKILEAKS: ROHABACHER IN HONDURAS
Over at the Surf City Voice Editor John Earl has posted a very provocative essay captioned, "Wikileaks: Rohrabacher subverted U.S. foreign policy and shilled for friends on Honduras trip." You can read that essay HERE.

RIGHEIMER WITH HIM
I'm not going to try to re-state any of Earl's report except to note that the trip in question apparently took place roughly eleven months ago and the entourage that accompanied Representative Dana Rohrabacher included Costa Mesa Mayor Pro Tem James Righeimer.

IS THIS "NEWS"? YOU DECIDE
Earl uses as his source for this story information leaked by Wikileaks and provides the full text of the leaked message. I'll leave it to you to read the report and make your own assessment of the issue. Is this newsworthy? Maybe. It involves our Congressional representative - a Costa Mesa resident - and his pal, our Mayor Pro Tem. Read and decide.