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Brentwood Press - DiscoveryBayPress_08.15.08 - Index

4A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY AUGUST 15, 2008
CSD to study correspondence costs
by Ruth Roberts
Staff Writer
Responding to the community’s request for a
district accounting of the cost of public correspondence,
the Discovery Bay Community Services District
(CSD) agreed last week to direct staff to compile
a comprehensive report for review.
This was the second time the motion was brought
before the CSD board. CSD Director David Piepho’s
initial proposal was voted down at the July 16 CSD
meeting. This time, Piepho’s motion was expanded
to include all public correspondence; not just letters
from what was interpreted by some as one particular
resident. The action passed 3-1; CSD Director Dave
Dove voting against the proposition.
At the Aug. 6 CSD meeting, Piepho said the reason
for bringing the motion back before the board
was simple: “I bring this back up for consideration
because I believe the district has a responsibility to
know the impact of ongoing correspondence and the
effect it is having on our budget and staff time. This
action does not limit anyone’s rights. It is a fi nancial
report that should contain information relative to
the board and rate payers … they (rate payers) are
most affected by this and need to know.”
But some audience members believed the motion
was nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt
by Piepho to silence resident William Richardson
(who is currently suing the CSD over what he says
are district’s continued violations of the procedural
letter of the law), who generates the bulk of the correspondence
the town receives.
“ Folks now in the community
really want to know, so I think it’s
appropriate that we find out. People
are asking for information and they
are entitled to.
”
CSD President Shannon Murphy-Teixeira
“You can’t ignore the elephant in the room here,”
said Walter MacVittie of Piepho’s motion. “This is
about Mr. Richardson. He has a problem with how
the board conducts business, and I do too, but he’s
taken a different approach … this (lawsuit) needs to
get settled.”
CSD President Shannon Murphy-Teixeira said
that the motion is not about the lawsuit, but about a
simple accounting of taxpayer dollars spent.
“I have gotten an earful about this issue since
the last meeting and the article in the newspaper,
and there have been a lot of comments about it,”
she said. “I have actually found myself defending
Mr. Richardson. People say to me, ‘Can’t you stop
him?’ and I say, ‘No, he has a right to write letters.’
‘Then why aren’t you fi nding out how much it costs?’
Folks now in the community really want to know, so
I think it’s appropriate that we fi nd out. People are
asking for information and they are entitled to.”
Resident Bob Mankin agreed with Murphy-
Teixeira.
“We’re not talking about a casual letter here,”
said Mankin referring to Richardson’s letters to the
CSD. “I have this week’s workload here, and I have
75 pages from one individual. That’s a cost we’re
all carrying. No one is hindering Mr. Richardson’s
rights; he can write 150 pages next week if he wants,
but I think the rate payers should know (the cost).
It has nothing to do with free speech; it’s purely fi -
nancial.”
However, attendee Judy Kier said she believed
the CSD board could easily have rendered the discussion
a moot point. “This wouldn’t even be a
topic of conversation if it (last meeting’s motion)
wasn’t published in the newspaper,” said Kier. “You
wouldn’t be getting all these letters if you answered
them (and the lawsuit). I wish you would settle the
lawsuit; it just seems like stubbornness on your
part.”
CSD staff will collect an accounting of public
correspondence dating back 24 months, and will
compile the results into a comprehensive report
broken down into categories: legal correspondence,
public requests and general letters. Once the report
is complete, the results will be presented to the board
and evaluated.
But at least one audience member was looking
at the bigger, far-reaching picture. “This is getting
to be very disappointing to hear all the negativity all
the time,” said Ray Shepherd. “We’re supposed to
show a good example to the public, and I think we
all need to work together. We need to stick together
as a group.”
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