 ** Dear Friends, Here is the link for the board package for our Committee of the Board Helix Water District Board Meeting: AGENDA COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Wednesday, September 28, 2016, 3PM 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, CA 91942-0427 The Committee of the Board meets to discuss items at length. No action is taken, but it is an opportunity to brainstorm on ideas, discussion, and ask questions. Two Items are up for Discussion: Item 4. The Board Discuss the Tipi and Kayak Reveal Event – new Tipi’s at Lake Jennings, update, status and plan a ribbon cutting event. Item 5. The Board Receive the Medical Plan Renewals Report Effective January 1, 2017 My Note: As we all know, healthcare prices are extremely expensive in our country. At Helix we provide 100% healthcare coverage for employees and their families, and depending on when you retired various different plans for retirees. The employees can pick from one of the following three plans, Kaiser, Anthem Blue Cross HMO and Anthem Blue Cross PPO. Anthem Blue Cross prices are significantly higher than Kaiser, as shown in the table I created below. As part of the last MOU, the employees who are on the Anthem Blue Cross Plans will start to pay $50 a month toward their health care come January 1, 2017. The Anthem Blue Cross Plans had an increase of 12% across the board. Kaiser, had some increases from 1.71 to 5.61%, much more modest. I truly applaud the employees who are on the lower costing plan, having health care and saving money for the District as every dollar saved reduces our water bills…full disclosure: I am on the Kaiser plan. I hope we have a discussion on what we can do to control these costs. Perhaps there are cheaper PPO plans out there? With our unfunded OPEB Other Post Employee Benefits liability at $25 Million, every dollar saved reduces our water bills... Monthly Renewal Rates Effective January 1, 2017 *District did not disclose how many employees are in each section, single, double, family, but they did mention in the board report that there are 10 district retirees with family coverage as retired. ----------------------------------------------------------- This November Election for Helix Water District Board I support:
As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. Blog is on my website of past meetings & comments…check it out! Please feel free to forward email. Kathleen Coates Hedberg, P.E., M.P.H. Director, Helix Water District Board 11263 Explorer Road La Mesa, CA 91941 H619.660.7487 C619.994.6900 www.VoteHedberg.org www.hwd.com www.lakejennings.org (go fishing & camping) www.socalwatersmart.com (rebate link) Thomas Paine Liberty Torchbearer Award Winner Per the request of the Helix Water District Board on May 16, 2012, the following language is to be added by all Board Directors in all outgoing Director correspondence. "This correspondence, and any documents attached hereto, reflects the individual opinions and positions of the above-named Director and does not represent the opinions or positions of the District's Board of Directors or the District. Pursuant to Section 9.1-11(A) of the Helix Water District Policies and Procedures Manual, individual Directors, except as otherwise authorized by the Board, shall have no power to act for the District or the District's Board of Directors." **Please note no public funds or resources were used for the distribution of this email... ***If you want to be removed from my list…let me know! J ****If this email was forwarded to you and you want to be added to my list…let me know! *****Transparency, don’t just say it – do it!
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Dear Friends, Here is the link for the board package for our Regular Helix Water District Board Meeting: AGENDA REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Wednesday, September 21, 2016, 2PM 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, CA 91942-0427 Interesting items: Item 5. (d) pdf page 33 Reports
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...the California Special Districts Association (Sacramento HQ) is having a Video Contest, similar to the one we had from our local San Diego Chapter of CSDA! CA High School and College Students - send in your entry by October 31, 2016 of a Video on How Special Districts Make a Difference! $3500 in Scholarship Awards! Here is the link for more information: http://www.districtsmakethedifference.org/contest Please feel free to share the contest information and help get the message out! ------------------------------------------------------------- This November Election for Helix Water District Board I support:
As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. www.VoteHedberg.org www.hwd.com www.lakejennings.org (go fishing & camping) www.socalwatersmart.com (rebate link) Per the request of the Helix Water District Board on May 16, 2012, the following language is to be added by all Board Directors in all outgoing Director correspondence. "This correspondence, and any documents attached hereto, reflects the individual opinions and positions of the above-named Director and does not represent the opinions or positions of the District's Board of Directors or the District. Pursuant to Section 9.1-11(A) of the Helix Water District Policies and Procedures Manual, individual Directors, except as otherwise authorized by the Board, shall have no power to act for the District or the District's Board of Directors." **Please note no public funds or resources were used for the distribution of this email... ***If you want to be removed from my list…let me know! J ****If this email was forwarded to you and you want to be added to my list…let me know! *****Transparency, don’t just say it – do it! **
Dear Friends, Here is the link for the board package for our Regular Helix Water District Board Meeting: AGENDA REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Wednesday, September 7, 2016, 2PM 7811 University Avenue, La Mesa, CA 91942-0427 Interesting items: Item 6. The Board Authorize the General Manager to Execute a Services Agreement and Related Contract Documents with Invoice Cloud Inc. to Provide Credit Card and Automated Clearing House Payment Processing Services for Online, Pay-by-Phone and Automatic Bank Draft (AutoPay) Customer Payment Options Invoice Cloud pricing terms were negotiated as follows. r ~--~~--- ---- ~~~--- --- ~--~~ ~-- --~ - - -- ""'Y" --..- --- Invoice Cloud Services Fee Responsible l Credit Card Payment (Visa, MC, Discover) $ 3.95 Customer E-Check and AutoPay Payment $ 0.40 HWD Paperless Billing per Bill per Cycle $ 0.08 HWD Pay-by-Phone Payment Surcharge $ 0.20 HWD There is no change in the fee charged to district customers who use their credit cards to pay their water bills. Based on Invoice Cloud's schedule of service fees, the annual cost to the district will be approximately $52,000 - $57,000. I plan on asking our General Manager on Monday for more information. I want to know what are we paying now and what were the other two proposals submitted by qualified vendors, ACI Worldwide Inc., and Paymentus Corp were. I want the best deal for customers and the district. FYI: Typically this review is done at a Committee level, but it was not brought to our Committee at large level and Helix does not have a Finance Committee, like many other Special Districts do..hopefully November will bring some change…speaking of which. November 2016 means election time. The ballot is filled with many candidates and all elections are important! The Grossmont Mt. Helix Improvement Association created an Election Committee to look at the Helix Water District Board of Directors and identified, vetted and endorsed three candidates: 1. Division 3 (Spring Valley, Lemon Grove, southern La Mesa) Mark Gracyk: has professional experience managing water, regularly attends the Helix Board meetings, and has expressed willingness to be a rate-payer advocate. Website: www.Mark4HWD.org 2. Division 1 ( El Cajon) Dan McMillan: has served on the Padre Dam Water District Board, the San Miguel Fire District Board, has a sound background in finance also pledges to represent the rate-payer Website: www.dan4lowerrates.com 3. Division 5 ( East El Cajon) Joel Scalzitti, incumbent, consistently represents the rate-payer. (Running for re-election unopposed). It is important to note that voters may only vote for the candidate representing their geographic Division. While you may not be able to vote for our preferred candidates, we encourage you to support them in other ways because their presence on the Helix Water Board will change the direction of the agency. Note: For those in attendance at our last meeting who have already offered assistance, we thank you in advance! 1. Urge your friends and acquaintances living in Division 1 and 3 to VOTE in this election and to vote for Mark Gracyk or Dan McMillan. 2. Make a financial contribution to their campaigns to help purchase signs and flyers (see websites). 3. Offer assistance; the candidates need help in placing signage, distributing flyers, networking with voter groups, and media coverage. With your help, we can finally end up with a majority on the Helix Water Board – a majority that is open and willing to consider alternatives to raising rates in order to manage their budget. For questions or more information, contact Larry Nichols (619) 440-1607 or Lsnnichols@cox.net. As always, I welcome your comments and feedback. Per the request of the Helix Water District Board on May 16, 2012, the following language is to be added by all Board Directors in all outgoing Director correspondence. "This correspondence, and any documents attached hereto, reflects the individual opinions and positions of the above-named Director and does not represent the opinions or positions of the District's Board of Directors or the District. Pursuant to Section 9.1-11(A) of the Helix Water District Policies and Procedures Manual, individual Directors, except as otherwise authorized by the Board, shall have no power to act for the District or the District's Board of Directors." **Please note no public funds or resources were used for the distribution of this email... ***If you want to be removed from my list…et me know! ****If this email was forwarded to you and you want to be added to my list…et me know! *****Transparency, don’t just say it – do it! |
Author: Kathleen HedbergCivil Engineer in 5th Term as a Helix Water District Board Director and Past President of the Board! CategoriesArchives
April 2023
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