Opinion: San Diego water agency turns to Sacramento to get its way
Somewhere in California, two small water districts propose to leave a big agency that has long provided the water for another that can provide the very same supply. They agree to hire an outside expert to help a county commission find a fair financial solution. The expert recommends an exit fee of sorts if the water districts want to leave. The commission goes along with the expert. And now the big agency has come to Sacramento looking to abuse the state legislative process in order to undo a perfectly legal local decision. These water districts all happen to be in San Diego County. But this is an abuse of power that can happen anywhere if the Legislature gets into a dangerous habit of changing local decisions about boundaries and governance simply because a powerful government in town wants a different outcome.
-Written by Tom Kennedy, general manager of the Rainbow Municipal Water District; and Jack Bebee, the general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility District.