February 28, 2008

Annual Salary for Full-Time Water District Manager Could Cost in Excess of $100,000

Photo by Dave Maxwell Lincoln County Water District Board

By Dave Maxwell, Staff Writer

The possibility of hiring a full-time experienced professional manager for the Lincoln County Water District was discussed at length at their February 26 regular meeting. Board members decided it would be in the best interest of the County to at least develop a job description for such a position.

Dylan Frehner, current part-time General Manager, was given the task of developing the description which would include an administrative background and training in geology and/or hydrology.

Frehner, who is an attorney and would continue as legal counsel, said he “would welcome someone with the professional background to be a full-time General Manager.”

Board member Paul Mathews of Panaca said he felt the Water District needed to become proactive in water matters because as it stands right now, “Lincoln County Water is being driven by outside forces…and the District is being very passive.” A trained professional manager would be able “to come up with a proactive agenda of what we want to accomplish rather than just reacting to outside forces and then molding our agenda around that,” Mathews said.

Board members said they are aware that the salary for such a person would be $100,000 plus.

Mathews said the County has to decide if it wants to be the water provider for new developments taking place in the county, or let someone else do it. A professional General Manager, he thought, would help the Water District plan and control its own resources as a water utility, “as we look at the big picture of what we’re going to grow up to be over the next 30 years…and not let outside forces dictate to us what we are.”

Board member Wade Poulsen said he also would like to have the District become proactive, “more creating our own destiny, rather than having our destiny handed to us.”

Frehner said he thought that with such a vision and plan in place, there would be enough work for a full-time General Manager. He has been serving on a part-time basis at his own request since last summer, because the direction of the board at the time, he said, was undecided. However, if the current idea is followed through on, he feels there would definitely be enough work for a full-time position. He said Panaca and Pioche would like to have the Water District be the provider for their communities; however, Alamo and the City of Caliente prefer to handle things themselves.

Frehner said there is sufficient groundwater within Lincoln County to meet the needs of future growth, but he feels the Board needs to develop a clear direction of its goals.

There are also other options for the district to consider if they seek to become more pro-active regarding water issues in the County. For the Toquop area, in particular he mentioned two options. One would be for the County to make development agreements to be the water provider, which the developers would pay for. Another could be to contract with a private firm to oversee operations for 10-20 years, help with financing, and then turn it over to the County.

Frehner said when he would present the job description for a full-time General Manager at the Water Board meeting on March 20 for a decision by the board as to whether or not to include the funding in the 2008-2009 budget planning.