EBMUD Board Grants itself 11.9% Salary Increase

On January 24th, just before the EBMUD Board kicked off EBMUD’s 100-year celebration, five members of the seven-member Board voted to increase the Board’s salary by 11.9%.  Director Katz made the motion; seconded by Director Patterson; with Directors McIntosh, Linney and Young joining in approval.  Directors Coleman and Chan did not vote to support the 11.9% increase.

The majority justification:  Because in 2021 the workers got a 3% increase and the Board took none (by unanimous consensus) and 2022 the workers got a 4% increase while the Board didn’t address an increase their salary, the Board majority could now reach back to those years through a retroactive calculation – applied prospectively through “cumulative addition” and add those numbers to a 4.5% increase to their 2023 salary on February 1st – which has resulted in a 11.9% compounding effect.

Now, State law – through the Municipal Utilities (MUD) Act provides that Directors may increase their salaries “… by not more than 5% for each calendar year following the operative date of the last adjustment …” What Directors Katz, Patterson, McIntosh, Linney and Young use in that law for justification is that by taking no action in 2021 and 2022 is that there was no “operative” action – thereby permitting them to add 3% + 4% + 4.5% with compounding to achieve an 11.9% salary increase effective the 1st of February.  This totally ignores that “no action” is an action.  And further, the last two years of Frank Mellon’s term are completely passed over and he gets no retroactive pay.

So, as EBMUD pushes out 100 years of existence, the Board majority of Katz, Patterson, Linney, McIntosh and Young rewards themselves with the 11.9% salary increase on the 1st of February. Board members Coleman and Chan are to be recognized for not going along with this blatant playing fast and loose with the intent of the MUD Act.

–Frank Mellon, Castro Valley