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Transparent Information. Clearly Stated.

Our Value

Our website is dedicated to our customers' right to expect transparent government and easy to access information. We want to make sure that our compensation information is easy to find and that our customers understand the value of the services we provide. Please take a few moments to review our website to learn about our operations, our services and our finances. You will find that we provide a high level of service while maintaining some of the lowest water and sewer rates in Orange County.

Our Transparency

IRWD provides water, sewer, recycled water and urban runoff services to more than 330,000 residents in Central Orange County. We are governed by a five member publicly elected Board of Directors that is responsible for the District’s policies and decision making. IRWD’s General Manager is the chief executive for the District and is responsible for all aspects of day-to-day operations including a staff of 313 and a combined annual Operating and Capital Budget of approximately $250 million.

IRWD’s Board of Directors conducts meetings twice a month in a public forum. All Board member and employee compensation, including salaries and benefits, are adopted by the Board of Directors in a public meeting process where our customers always have an opportunity to review and comment.

Customers are encouraged to attend these meetings, sign up  for meeting agenda noticfications, sign up for resident tours, attend one of our workshops, view our website, and sign up for our RSS news feed, Facebook page or Twitter channels to stay up to date on IRWD activities. You can also reach us at customerservice@irwd.com or (949) 453-5300.

Our Compensation:

• 2009 IRWD Compensation on the California State Controller's Office Website
• 2010 IRWD Compensation submtted to State Controller's Office (not yet published)
• IRWD Board and Senior Staff Compensation

Staff: 
For Fiscal Year 2011/12, the employee salary schedule and benefits package was approved by the IRWD Board of Directors on April 25, 2011. This is the salary schedule for IRWD employees. The FY 2011/12 Operating Budget was reviewed by the IRWD Finance and Personnel Committee and by the IRWD Board at Public Workshops on April 11 and April 29, 2011. 

General Manager:
Paul Cook was appointed IRWD General Manager on October 24, 2011 with an annual salary of $232,180.  Each year the General Manager's performance and compensation contract is reviewed by the Board of Directors.

Board of Directors:
Each year, the Board of Directors reviews and takes formal action to set Board compensation in accordance with State of California law. On December 12, 2011, the IRWD Board of Directors elected not to increase their fees for calendar year 2012. The current compensation for the IRWD Board of Directors was set in 2009 and is $237.00 per meeting, not to exceed 10 meetings per month. 

Retirement and Benefits 

IRWD provides employee retirement benefits under the California Public Employees Retirement System at a 2.5 percent at age 55 formula.  The District pays the employer share of these costs and is implementing a multi-year process to transition District employees to pay the full 8% of the employee retirement cost.  As of March 1, 2012, the following contribution rates have been implemented for the employee share of the pension cost:

• The General Manager contributes the full 8%
• Senior Management contributes 7%
• Full-time regular employees contribute 5%

The IRWD Board is expected to review further changes in March of 2013.

As part of the District’s overall cost reduction strategy, in February of 2012 the IRWD Finance and Personnel Committee approved the initial steps for implementing a two-tiered retirement benefit system where new employees will be covered by a different PERS formula than current IRWD employees. The proposal is expected to be reviewed by the IRWD Board of Directors in April 2012. The goal is to implement these changes beginning by July 1, 2012.

IRWD provides medical, dental and vision coverage with employees sharing in the monthly cost of the program. A deferred compensation program is available in the form of a 457 plan, with matching funds after one year of employment. IRWD supports higher education goals by sharing tuition costs for classes, certification programs or job-related courses. Life insurance and car allowances are offered in varied amounts depending upon the position. Rideshare and vanpool options as well as uniform allowances are also available.

Our Ethics

In addition, IRWD has adopted and follows a Conflict of Interest Policy and fully complies with the specific requirements of the Political Reform Act (financial interests and decision making), Government Code Section 1090 (contracts), the Ralph M. Brown Act (open meetings), and AB 1234 (compensation, expense reimbursement and ethics training). These policy and statutory requirements ensure transparency and ethical behavior by water district officials. 

Our Customers

Our core belief is that we serve the public. We are committed to providing the highest value to our customers in the form of lowest possible cost. If you have any questions about IRWD, our compensation or our fiscal practices, please let us know. We want to hear from you.

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Original: 9/07/2010 
Updated: 03/06/2012