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News & Features
From the Idyllwild Town Crier weekly newspaper, 11.26.09 edition.
CSA 36’s oversight questioned
By Marshall Smith, Staff
Reporter
At the Nov. 19 County Service Area (CSA) 36
Advisory Committee meeting, Bill Brown, operations manager for
Riverside County’s County Service Areas (CSA), followed up his
appearance at a Sept. 17 joint CSA and Idyllwild Community Recreation
Council (ICRC) meeting and stressed CSA’s oversight responsibility.
The CSA is a public agency and governed by the Brown Act. Brown
addressed ICRC responses to his Sept. 17 meeting questions and
subsequent written inquiries. He found omissions in aspects of ICRC
performance. Some of the answers ICRC provided generated more
questions.
“Providing recreation is a professional service,” said Brown, noting
the more than $200,000 in tax money that flows to ICRC from
parcel taxes on property within CSA 36. He stressed CSA 36
responsibility to oversee ICRC’s performance in its delivery of
recreation, its budget processes and its accountability to taxpayers
and the county.
“I’m trying to get you [the CSA committee] more actively involved in
recreation,” said Brown. “This [CSA 36] board is a highly qualified
board. I will constantly update you on what I know [about county
concerns and observations about delivery of recreation].”
Brown then elaborated on several ICRC answers and documentation.
From the Feb. 27, 2007 county contract with ICRC, he cited ICRC’s
requirement to name the CSA Advisory Committee and Riverside County as
co-insureds on comprehensive public liability and property damage
insurance policies.
“Per the contract, the insurance that covers you [CSA 36] and the
county was never [for the first 33 months of the contract] in place,”
said Brown. He explained the risk to both the county and CSA 36 that
omission presented — that in a highly litigious society, plaintiffs
come after those with deep pockets. The kinds of risk-inherent services
ICRC provides as recreation contractor require protecting the larger
entities such as the county and the CSA.
ICRC recently remedied the omission. “I believe we all thought it was
done correctly from the start, or we would have corrected it,” said
ICRC Director Vic Sirkin. “Apparently everyone else (County [and]
CSA36) thought it was correct for 33 months as well. We are glad to
have it corrected.”
Brown also expressed reservations about ICRC’s budget process. “I’m
concerned about the budget and I hopep I’m wrong,” he said. “You’re
spending $40,000 more than your revenue.” He compared spending in 2007,
2008 and 2009 that showed a nearly 30 percent spending increase in 2009
over that of 2008.
“This is an unsustainable system,” said Brown. Both Recreation Director
Bob Lewis and CSA 36 Committee member Pete Capparelli said they’re
aware of the problem. “I’m not unaware, Bill,” said Capparelli. “Every
month Bob [Lewis] comes here he is challenged [on spending]. We’ve
talked to Bob about increasing user fees.”
“We’re slowly but surely catching up,” said Lewis. “I do foresee these
[spending] numbers going down.”
“Aren’t we doing what we always do other than the raises [salary
increases for staff]?” asked Advisory Committee memb
er Mike Frietas. “Salaries are the increase,” agreed Chair Holly Maag.
Brown also questioned ICRC’s paying for auto insurance that does
not cover employees transporting children in private cars. “ICRC is not
sure what [the insurance] covers,” said Brown. “Chris Singer admitted
it does not cover recreation employees transporting children in private
cars.” Singer said the only auto insurance ICRC carries is called
Non-Owned Auto which costs $100 per year. It covers an employee on Town
Hall business who gets into an accident and kicks in after their own
coverage pays.
Lewis will perform a cost analysis for remaining field trips to
determine whether to pay for field trip insurance covering private
vehicle transportation of children or hire professional transportation.
Brown said he did not understand ICRC’s explanation about Lewis’
salary increase over that of previous Director James Campbell. He
requested comparisons of Campbell’s and Lewis’ yearly compensation
packages so that the county could better understand the details.
Brown also requested CSA 36 to limit agenda items to areas of its
responsibility and eliminate reports on the Idyllwild Community Center
(ICC), a project not within the scope of CSA supervision. “The agenda
should say [only] the two things you do [recreation and street
lights],” he said. “That is the agenda the public knows.” On a motion
and vote, the board agreed to remove ICC updates from the agenda.
On a related matter, Capparelli informed Brown there had been
discussions between the ICRC board and members of the CSA committee
about advisability of ICRC creating two separate boards, one for Town
Hall recreation and the other for building the ICC and other ICRC
matters not part of the Town Hall recreation contract.
“That would really help a lot [in clarifying public perception],” said
Brown.
Brown also recommended that ICRC create a separate bank account
for“Town Hall Recreation." “All bank accounts seem to be under San
Jacinto Mountain Community Center [ICRC’s umbrella 501(c)(3)],” said
Brown. “That caused the county concern about possible
comingling. It would really help me to see that county money does not
go to [there],” said Brown. Previous ICRC Treasurer Reba Coulter
assured Brown that county money was never comingled with other ICRC
funds.
People opposed to the ICC could object if they believed county money
was being used to build the ICC. “I’m helping you and the public see
where the money goes,” he explained.
At the end of the meeting, Suzon Capparelli asked Brown if ICRC answers
and documentation provided had been sufficient. “There is more work to
be done,” he responded. “I’m really trying to help them [ICRC] along
the way. I want to go forward and fix the problems.”
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