This story came in part from notes taken by Simon Mayeski, a San Diego Documenter, during an Independent Rates Oversight Committee meeting in September. The Documenters program trains and pays community members to document what happens at public meetings. Read more about the program here.
A committee meant to oversee elected officials on how they charge San Diegans for water and sewer services hasn’t been able to do its job due to a lack of members.
The Independent Rates Oversight Committee, or IROC, has served as the official advisory body to the mayor and City Council on issues related to the Public Utilities Department’s operations since 2007. Yet the committee has met just twice this year — even as residents face rising water rates.
Officials say IROC and other city committees are facing the same struggle: vacancies. Five of IROC’s 11 seats are open, and the remaining spots are held by members serving beyond their terms that expired years ago. IROC members have long raised concerns over the vacancies.
“We try to be supportive of the (Public Utilities) department and what they're doing,” said Gordon Hess, who has served on the committee since 2018.
“And if we can delve into the details and provide input, whether it's constructive criticism or give it a stamp of approval, I think that would help to assure ratepayers that those increases that are happening now are justified.”
The committee is supposed to advise the city with a wide array of issues, from operations to public outreach to reviewing how officials spend the money collected from utility bills. Its goal is to balance the interests of both Public Utilities and ratepayers, according to city policy.
But members say the vacancies have hampered their ability to provide input. Just two meetings were held in 2023, the same year the City Council approved what will ultimately be a nearly 20% increase on water rates. City spokesperson Nicole Darling said staff presented a cost of service study to the IROC for feedback in January 2023, after it was released to the public.
The higher rates are estimated to raise the average monthly bill for a single-family home by about $12. Officials say the recently approved rate hikes will pay for better customer service and water infrastructure enhancements.
Hess said he and other IROC members have also struggled to provide input on the second phase of the city’s Pure Water Program, a billion-dollar project aimed to convert wastewater into drinking water. Costs have jumped by 10% because of inflation and major problems with tunneling and flooding, and the increase is expected to raise water and sewer rates in the future.
All of the committee’s canceled meetings this year have been due to a lack of quorum. City rules say the IROC is supposed to meet at least every other month.
Members of IROC also run subcommittee meetings, none of which have met for over a year.
The IROC requires qualifications for each seat, designating them for experts in accounting, engineering, environmental science, construction management and more. But city officials say that creates challenges when trying to find prospective members who are eligible and can serve in an unpaid position.
Chida Warren-Darby, the city’s director of appointments, boards and commissions, said citywide efforts to dissolve and restructure some committees, coupled with understaffing and budget constraints, have contributed to delays. Changes following the COVID-19 pandemic that no longer allow members to attend remotely for most meetings have also made it harder for boards to make quorum, she said.
“There's a very real resource issue,” she said. “And our hands are a little tied in terms of legislation at the state level that really prohibits us from having the freedoms needed for people to participate in the capacity they want.”
Warren-Darby acknowledged IROC members’ frustrations over the vacancies.
“They're valid. I don't have a rebuttal,” she said. “If you don't have a full body that's able to deliberate on issues, then of course you can't be effective.”
The city received nine applications to serve on IROC over the past three years. Warren-Darby said they remain under review.
Still, the city says it makes efforts to fill vacancies, including a recruitment video that runs regularly on Cox and the city’s cable channel, routine promotions through social media, webinars, newsletters and regularly notifying City Council offices about expired and vacant seats.
A city spokesperson also said the Public Utilities Department updates IROC members on the use of ratepayer funds and “appreciates the input, feedback, guidance and questions IROC members provide.”
IROC members said they have provided helpful oversight before struggling with vacancies. Committee member David Akin, who previously worked for Public Utilities for 15 years, pointed to the committee’s input on installing what are known as “smart meters” — helping city workers make repairs faster and charge customers in a more timely manner.
Akin said he wants the IROC to receive reports and presentations earlier when possible, not until after they’re taken to the mayor or councilmembers. That would allow the committee to give input ahead of time “for the benefit of the council,” he said.
“But I think the first thing we need to do is just fix the lack of filled vacancies,” he said.
Akin traveled outside of the state this month to visit family, meaning the IROC again did not make quorum.
